BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KANSAS 
HUMANISTIC  STUDIES 


Vof   "  May  1,  1916  No.  1 


ORIENTAL  DICTION  AND  THEME 
IN  ENGLISH  VERSE,  1740-1840 

BY 

EDNA  OSBORNE,  A.  M. 

Fellow-elect  in  English,  The  University  of  Kansas 


LAWKhNCE,  MAY.  1916 
I'UBLISHED  BY  THF.  UNIVERSITY 


PR 

2     ,    ,    PREFACE 

.  .OiOO''^ 

The  writer's  interest  in  Orientalism  in  English  literature  began 
at  the  University  of  Illinois  in  1911,  when  Professor  H.  G.  Paul,  in 
a  lecture  on  the  Romantic  poets,  emphasized  Byron's  Oriental 
coloring  and  suggested  that  its  study  would  make  a  good  thesis.  A 
little  later  this  interest  took  form  in  a  master's  thesis  on  The 
Orientalism  of  Byron,  which  was  accepted  by  the  English  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Kansas  in  1914.  This  preliminary  study 
opened  up  a  field  which  seemed  boundless,  and  which  offered  very 
attractive  appeals  to  the  student  of  foreign  influences  on  English 
literature. 

One  does  not  need  to  be  acquainted  with  Oriental  languages  or 
Oriental  literature  to  trace  with  some  profit  the  effects  of  Oriental 
interests  on  English  verse  and  prose.  It  has  been  impossible  to 
examine  all  the  English  verse  from  1740  to  1840;  but  the  chief 
poets  have  been  reviewed  with  a  good  deal  of  care,  and  many  of 
the  minor  ones.  The  Oriental  drama  offers  a  field  by  itself,  and 
only  a  few  dramas  have  been  included  in  the  present  survey.  It  is 
hoped  that  all  the  main  characteristics  of  Oriental  diction  and 
theme  in  the  period  have  been  recognized  and  given  some  attention 
in  this  paper.  There  has  been  no  effort  at  a  microscopic  examina- 
tion, at  inclusion  of  every  possible  poet,  passage,  or  term.  It  is 
hoped  and  presumed  that  such  values  as  the  present  study  yields 
will  prove  sound  in  and  for  themselves. 

The  writer  wishes  to  thank  Dr.  C.  G.  Dunlap,  Head  of  the  Eng- 
lish Department,  and  Miss  Carrie  Watson,  University  Librarian, 
and  her  assistants  for  courtesies  extended;  and  also  Dr.  E.  D. 
Cressman,  of  the  Latin  Department,  for  assistance  in  matters 
relating  directly  to  Greek,  Latin,  and  Sanskrit.  To  Professor 
S.  L.  Whitcomb,  the  editor  of  this  series  of  Studies,  the  writer 
is  especially  grateful  for  constant  assistance  during  the  past  year 
— assistance  as  generous  as  it  was  helpful.  Without  it  this  paper 
could  hardly  have  been  brought  to  completion  at  the  present 
time. 

Edna  O.sbokne. 
The  University  of  Kansas, 
June  28,  1916. 


CONTENTS 

:===^                                                Chapter  I 
^     Introduction:    Orientalism  in  English  Verse 7 

Chapter  II 
Oriental  Vocabulary 21 

Chapter  III 
Oriental  Phrase  and  Figure 31 

Chapter  IV 
Oriental  Passage  and  Poem 43 

Chapter  V 
The  East  and  the  West bQ 

Chapter  VI 
The  Orient  Itself 69 

Chapter  VII 
Poetic  Values  in  English  Orientalism 83 

Appendix 

I.  Bibliographical  Notes. 

A.  Poems  and  Passages 93 

B.  Collections  of  Poems 129 

C.  General  Bibliographical  Notes 130 

II.  Notes  on  the  Oriental  Vocabulary. 

A.  Oriental  Vocabulary  in  Sir  William  Jones 134 

B.  English  Words  of  Oriental  Derivation 136 

C.  Oriental  Vocal)ulary  in  the  King  James  Version 

of  the  Bible 138 

Index 189 


Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  in 
English  Verse,  1740-1840 

CHAPTER  I 

Introdoction:  Orientalism  in  English  Verse 

This  study  aims  to  present  within  brief  compass  the  general 
character  of  the  Oriental  diction  and  the  Oriental  theme  in  English 
verse  between  1740  and  1840. 

Every  noteworthy  fashion,  manner,  or  school  in  the  history  of 
English  poetry  has  a  vocabulary  and  a  phrasing  that  are  char- 
acteristic and  reveal  something  of  the  spirit  beyond  the  words. 
Pastoralism  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  certain  themes  and  certain 
moods,  but,  almost  of  necessity,  of  certain  verbal  tendencies. 
One  who  reviews  the  Oriental  poetry  of  England  for  the  century 
after  the  publication  of  Collin's  Eclogues  soon  becomes  familiar 
with  a  characteristic  diction  and  its  relation  to  mental  and  moral 
states.  In  some  Oriental  poems  there  is  little  Oriental  quality  in 
the  diction;  the  Orientalism  may  be  confined  chiefly  to  the  setting, 
to  a  character  or  characters,  or  to  a  general  theme.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  are  passages  and  poems  whose  exotic  character  is 
mainly  in  the  language.  The  ideal  poem  is  one  which  expresses 
Eastern  life  or  Eastern  feeling  in  Orientalized  diction. 

In  the  present  study,  the  term  "Orientalism"  is  somewhat 
broadly  interpreted.  It  includes,  first,  the  i)resentation  of  life  in 
the  Orient  and  of  Oriental  objects,  ideas,  or  persons  in  the  West; 
second,  the  treatment  of  any  theme  in  a  style  Oriental  or  supposed 
to  be  Oriental.  The  first  interpretation  covers  the  Englishman  in 
India  as  well  as  the  native,  and  the  gypsy  and  the  elephant  in 
England  as  well  as  in  their  original  homes.  The  second  type  of 
Orientalism  would,  in  a  lax  aj)plication  of  the  idea,  be  found  in  all 
poems  of  a  i)eculiarly  rich,  luxurious,  and  figurative  fancy  and 


8  Utnrrr.iitij  of  Kiinsns  II  inn  a  tii. •<(!(•  SfiKhes 

dovond'iw  stylr.  This  second  conception,  however,  is  too  vague 
to  furnish  a  safe  ^'uidanee  in  such  a  slutly  as  this.  There  is  too 
inucli  in  (.•t)mnion  hetween  Orientahsni  so  interpreted  and  the 
iico-ItaHaiiat*"  niainier  so  nuich  in  vogue  during  the  latter  part  of 
our  perioil.  The  emphasis  nuist  i)e  hiid  upon  tlie  first  interjjre- 
tation,  which  is  logically  more  distinct  and  historically  more 
tangible. 

"The  Orient"  in  this  paper  includes  not  only  all  of  Asia  and  all 
of  Africa,  with  the  neighboring  islands,  but  Russia,  Poland,  Lap- 
land, Zembla,  Bohemia,  Turkey  in  Europe,  and  some  of  the 
Balkan  states.  Literary  criticism  usually  recognizes  a  certain 
Asiatic  element  in  Russian  literature,  and  the  racial  character  or 
the  political  history  of  the  other  countries  mentioned  allies  them, 
to  a  certain  degree  at  least,  with  the  Orient.  Mohammedan 
Africa  is  certainly  Oriental  so  far  as  the  English  poets  of  our 
period  are  concerned.  Partly  as  a  manner  of  convenience  and  part- 
ly in  recognition  of  the  poetic  treatment  it  receives — often  very 
similar  in  general  tone  to  that  given  to  Arabia  or  Persia — all  the 
rest  of  the  continent  may  be  included.  Even  the  negro  in  America 
may  appear  and  does  sometimes  appear  as  a  genuine  Oriental 
subject.  Spain  in  itself  does  not  belong  to  the  world  of  Eastern 
poetry,  but  many  of  the  poems  of  the  j)eriod  dealing  with  Spain 
are  concerned  largely  with  the  Moors  or  with  the  relations  of  the 
Spaniard  to  the  Moor. 

Martha  Pike  Conant  has  faced  the  problem  of  separating  the 
Hebraic  element  from  the  Oriental  for  critical  purposes.^  The 
distinction  often  seems  somewhat  arbitrary.  One  remembers 
Carlyle's  interpretation  of  the  Book  of  Job — Biblical  at  least  if 
not  fully  Hebraic —  in  the  "Hero  as  Prophet".  The  King  James 
version  of  the  Bible  contains  many  words  which  belong  to  the 
Oriental  vocabulary  of  English  poetry.^  Furthermore,  our  poets 
often  take  a  character,  a  subject,  or  a  situation  from  the  Bible  and 
elaborate  and  expand  it  in  Oriental  instead  of  strictly  Biblical 
fashion.  It  seems  sound  criticism  to  call  Byron's  Destruction  uf 
Sennacherib  an  Oriental  poem  though  it  is  one  of  the  Hebrew 
Melodies;  Wells'  Joseph  and  His  Brethren  has  passages  of  marked 
Oriental  quality.     In  The  Christian  Year  there  are  a  few  poems. 


1.  The  Oriental  Tale  in  Emjland.  p.  XVI. 

2.  See  Appendix,  II,  C. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  9 

theoretically  on  Biblical  subjects,  decidedly  akin  to  the  general 
Oriental  tone  of  the  period. 

A  conception  of  Oriental  diction  may  be  based  on  that  of  Orient- 
alism as  just  given.  Not  all  words  of  Oriental  derivation,  however, 
belong  to  the  poetical  vocabulary.  "Algebra",  "zero",  and  other 
scientific  terms  from  the  Orient  do  not  belong  to  English  Oriental 
style.  "Check",  though  derived  from  the  Persian,  is  sureh"^  less 
akin  to  the  Oriental  vocabulary  of  English  poetry  than  "glitter- 
ing", which  happens  to  be  of  Scandinavian  origin.  Such  are  the 
complications  in  the  relations  of  language  and  feeling  in  English 
Orientalism.  Much  of  the  general  subject  belongs  to  the  philolo- 
gist, rather  than  to  the  historian  of  style. 

So  little  has  been  done  in  the  field  of  Orientalism  in  English 
verse,  that  a  brief  historical  survey  may  not  be  amiss. 

There  is  no  Orientalism  in  Beowulf;  but  it  is  a  long  path  from 
Beoioulf  to  Kipling.  Prior  to  Chaucer,  in  the  verse  romances  and 
in  the  medieval  drama,  many  terms  of  Oriental  place  and  person 
are  introduced.  Mohammedanism,  the  Crusades,  and  pilgrimage 
to  the  Holy  Land  are  favorite  topics.  Herod,  in  the  Coventry 
Shearmen  and  Taylors,  declares  that  the  "whole  Orent  ys  under 
myn  obbeydeance".  He  swears  several  times  "Be  Mahownd", 
and  compares  his  own  "triumphant  fame"  to  that  of  "most 
niyght  Mahownd".  In  the  same  play  there  is  what  might  by 
courtesy  be  called  a  brief  Oriental  passage.  The  angel  is  sent  to 
the— 

"Kyng  of  Tawrus,  Sir  Jespar, 
Kyng  of  Arraby,  Sir  Balthasar, 
Melchor,  Kyng  of  Aginare. " 

In  the  Play  of  the  Sacrament,  the  merchant  has  traveled  quite 
extensively  in  the  Orient,  as  has  Jonathan  the  Jew.  The  real 
business  of  the  latter  is  to  be  converted  by  a  miracle.  Before 
conversion,  he  prays  to  "Almighty  Machoniet",  and  thanks  him 
for  his  gifts.  The  list  of  these  treasures  resembles  many  an 
Oriental  passage  in  later  poetry,  and  includes  "gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones" — amethysts,  emeralds,  sapphires,  rubies,  i)earls, 
etc. ;  spices  '  'both  great  and  small " — ginger,  licorice,  pomegranate, 
pepper,  cloves;  and  other  Eastern  products — rice,  almonds,  dates, 
and  figs. 
There  are  no  strictly  Oriental  poems  in  Chaucer,  unless  we  con- 


siiicr  tlif  M(tn  of  l.mi-'.s  Tdlc  nnd  llu'  l*ri()rcs't\'<  'inlc  a.s  s||<  li. 
( 'li.iuctT.  however,  iiwiilioiis  a  imiiilxT  of  Oriental  coniitrii's  and 
products,  ami  lie  s|)<'aks  of  ICastcni  idols.  nia<!;ic,  and  sorcery. 
His  OriiMitid  diction  is  distinct,  if  not  v<'ry  extensive,  including; 
such  v\ords  as  c;»rl)unch\  crystal,  date-tree,  figs,  nutmegs,  peacock, 
nihy.  spicery.  etc.  In  ht)th  Chaucer  and  The  Pear]  there  is  ref- 
erence to  the  "Fenyx  of  Arrahy  ".  The  third  and  fourth  lines  of 
this  ])oeni  arc: 

"Oute  of  Oryent,  I  hardyly  saye, 
Xc  proued  I  neucr  her  precios  ])erc." 

The  Fall  of  Constantinople  in  1  t5.'J  |)rol)al)Iy  had  some  efl'cct  on 
the  Enj^lisli  interest  in  the  OrienI,  as  well  as  on  the  general  |)rogrcss 
of  humanism  in  Europe.  The  relation  of  Spain  to  England  in  the 
Tudor  period  has  been  ably  considered  by  Dr.  Underbill.^  No 
great  body  of  Orientalized  English  verse,  however,  resulted  from 
these  influences.  Yet  from  Surrey  to  Milton,  that  is  in  the  Eliza- 
bethan period  in  the  broadest  possible  interpretation,  Orientalism 
in  diction  and  theme  is  a  richer  and  more  varied  sul)ject  tlian  in 
earlier  English  literature. 

The  early  English  secular  drama  sliows  many  traces  of  Oriental 
influence,  tliough  few  or  no  plays  strictly  Oriental.  Camhises  nuiy 
perhaps  be  called  the  first  Oriental  drama  in  England,  though 
aside  from  its  setting  and,  in  diction,  a  few  proper  names,  it  has 
little  Eastern  quality.  The  word  *'elej)hant"  is  about  all  to 
represent  Oriental  diction  in  Roister  Doister.  In  Gorboduc,  the 
theme  of  English  descent  from  a  Trojan  is  of  course  really  classical, 
in  source  and  significance,  bi  The  Foare  PP,  the  pardoner  has  on 
exhibition  an  "eye-toth  of  the  Great  Turke",  the  palmer  has  of 
course  been  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  apothecary's  store  includes 
a  few  Eastern  drugs,  one  being  **cassy" — said  to  be  the  oldest 
drug  known  to  medicine. 

The  Orientalism  in  Shakespeare  is  somwhat  ditt'use  or  uncertain 
in  tone.  01)eron  is  from  "the  farthest  steppe  of  India, "  and  there 
are  many  brief  references  here  and  there  to  the  Turks,  Ethioj)ians, 
'J'artars,  the  Nile,  etc.  The  Moor  appears  in  Tiius  Andronicus  as 
well  as  in  Othello. 

Antony  and  Cleopatra  has  not  only  an  Oriental  setting,  but,  in 


3.     Spanish  Literature  in  the  England  (if  the  Tudors. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  11 

spite  of  its  general  Roman  character  as  a  play,  passages  of  true 
Eastern  character.  In  David  and  Belhsahe  and  in  Campaspe  the 
coloring  in  part  is  clearly  of  the  Oriental  type.  But  it  is  in  Tani- 
burlaine  that  we  find  a  true  and  extensive  treatment  of  Oriental 
themes  expressed  in  Oriental  diction;  so  far,  at  least,  as  certain 
motifs — luxury,  tyranny,  excess — are  concerned.  In  this  play  is 
much  that  suggests  the  general  character  of  the  later  Oriental 
drama  in  England. 

Surrey's  Sardanapalus  is  a  good  early  example  of  an  English 
subject  Orientalized ;  and  is  an  introduction  to  an  Eastern  character 
destined  to  receive  more  extended  consideration  in  English  poetry. 
Several  pages  at  least  could  be  given  to  the  Oriental  element  in 
Spenser.  It  is  rich  in  diction  and  fairly  so  in  theme;  but  is  nowhere 
concentrated  into  an  Oriental  poem  or  extended  passage.  An 
examination  of  Dr.  Bradshaw's  Concordance  sho^^s  a  liberal  use 
of  Oriental  diction  in  Milton.  Professor  Beers  quotes  a  number  of 
phrases  from  Milton  to  prove  that  he  "had  more  of  the  East  in 
his  imagination  than  any  of  his  successors".^ 

Before  the  publication  of  Paradise  Lost,  the  Siege  of  Rhodes  and 
the  first  work  of  Waller  had  appeared,  and  English  poetry  was 
treading  the  path  toward  pseudo-classicism.  The  Siege  of  Rhodes 
is  the  forerunner  of  a  long  line  of  pl.ays  set  in  the  Orient  and  having 
at  least  some  Eastern  characters  and  some  Eastern  language,  if 
little  of  true  Oriental  coloring.  Many  of  the  scenes  in  the  heroic 
tragedies  are  laid  in  Asia,  Africa,  or  the  Mohammedan  regions  of 
Europe.  This  was  an  easy  task,  as  it  was  to  include  a  considerable 
number  of  names  for  the  characters  smacking  at  least  of  something 
non-English.  A  few  striking  foreign  customs  or  objects — such  as 
the  Chinese  Wall — were  also  easy  of  access;  but  few  playwrights 
attempted  to  escape  entirely  their  home  training  and  mode  of 
thought.  'Fancy  you  have  two  hours  in  Turkey  been",  directs 
the  epilogue  of  The  Conspiracy.  Through  The  Mourning  Bride 
and  The  Siege  of  Damascus  this  type  of  drama  flourishes,  till  in 
Zara  it  almost  reaches  the  opening  of  our  period,  and  in  Miller's 
Mahomet  actually  passes  into  the  period. 

Waller's  Orientalism  consists  mainly  of  a  number  of  poems 
dealing  with  the  political  and  military  activity  of  the  Turks,  juid 
of  a  sprinkling  of  such  Oriental  terms  as  Moor,  Persian,  Soldan, 


History  of  English  Romanticism  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  p.  4.'i. 


12  I'ltirt'r.siti/  i)f  K(i>i.-<(is  llnnmnistiv  Studies 

H;issa.  tlu'  K:i>l,  and  siicli  coiivtMit ioiial  phrases  as  (Voss  and 
("rosci'ut.  .Vral>ia's  spiers,  Afric's  sliore,  "from  India  to  the  frozen 
north",  etc.  In  l*ope  we  have  the  same  general  tradition,  more 
liberally  represented  however.  Dr.  H.  S.  Canby  has  written  a 
paper  on  Congrere  as  a  Romanticist.^  A  study  could  be  made  of 
the  pseudo-Oriental  element  in  Pope,  but  that  phase  of  his  work, 
like  some  others,  lies  mainly  on  the  surface.  Lines  93-118  in  The 
Temple  of  Fame  might  be  considered  an  Oriental  passage;  and  here 
and  tliere  in  his  verse  there  is  the  use  of  Oriental  diction  for  effects 
of  glittering  sensuous  richness. 

All  studies  of  English  verse  between  1740  and  1810  nmst  recog- 
nize the  gradual  waning  of  the  pseudo-classical  taste  and  the  grad- 
ual triumph  of  its  successors — by  whatever  name  we  call  them. 
Orientalism,  as  a  stylistic  manner  of  English  poetry,  is  either 
pseudo-classical  or  romantic.  It,  like  pastoralism,  made  its 
appeal  to  the  old-fashioned  among  the  English  poets,  and  to  the 
innovators,  when  they  arrived  on  the  scene.  The  history  of  Eng- 
lish poetry  proves  that  the  Orient  was  capable  of  making  a  deei)er, 
more  emotional  or  more  imaginative  effect  on  English  poets  than 
it  made  on  Waller  or  Pope.  The  present  study  should  indicate, 
without  a  strenuous  effort,  the  shifting  of  values  betw^een  the 
middle  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  and  the  opening  of  the  Victorian 
Era.  The  old  died  hard.  There  are  traces  of  the  conventional 
early  Eighteenth  Century  manner  even  in  Shelley  and  Keats; 
even  in  Coleridge  and  Wordsworth. 

The  exact  date  w  ith  which  our  period  opens  is  chosen  as  a  matter 
of  convenience.  There  is  of  course  no  absolute  break  in  the  con- 
tinuity of  English  Orientalism  between  The  Fair  Circassian 
(1720)  and  Lady  Montagu's  residence  in  Turkey  (1718)  and  the 
poems  of  Sir  William  Jones.  Already  in  Croxall  we  have  a  con- 
scious use  of  Orientalism  in  opposition  to  the  "dry  and  insipid 
stuff"  of  the  pseudo-classicists.  His  phrase  "a  whole  piece  of  rich 
glowing  scarlet"  sounds  very  much  like  Jones  and  some  of  the 
other  later  Orientalists.^  These  items  of  chronology  may,  however, 
be  worth  noting: 


5.  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Association  of  America.  New  Series, 
Vol.  XXIV;  I,  pp.  1-23. 

6.  For  the  significance  of  Croxall,  see  Gosse.  p.  138;  Phelps,  p.  30,  and  Beers, 
Eighteenth  Century,  p.  84. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  13 

1742.  Collins:     Persian  Eclogues. 

1744.  The  death  of  Pope. 

1746.  The  birth  of  Sir  William  Jones. 

1763.  Lady  Montagu's  Letters  published. 

At  the  close  of  our  period  we  are  at  the  threshold  of  the  Victorian 
period.  This  study  includes  the  work  of  a  number  of  poets  who 
lived  and  wrote  after  1840;  but  is  concerned  only  with  their  earlier 
verse.  It  omits  Tennyson,  Browning,  and  Bulwer  Lytton,  as  on 
the  whole  to  be  considered  Victorians.  There  are  probably  no  new 
Oriental  "notes",  of  importance,  so  far  as  poetry  is  concerned, 
between  Byron  and  Sohrab  and  Rustum  (1853). 

The  pseudo-classical  phases  of  Oriental  verse  are  essentially  the 
same  from  Pope  to  Byron.  These  include  the  practical,  didactic 
treatment  of  Eastern  life;  the  satirical  manner,  and  especially  a 
purely  literary,  stylistic  interest — imitative,  and  characterized  by 
conventional  ideas  and  diction  which  present  few  signs  of  im- 
aginative and  emotional  processes.  The  satirical  manner  of  Byron 
is  not  notably  different  from  that  of  Butler  or  Pope;  the  didacti- 
cism of  Southey,  at  its  worst,  resembles  that  of  Young  or  Johnson; 
Mangan's  fiction  of  translation  from  Oriental  sources  follows  the 
model  of  Collins.  Crabbe's  heroic  couplets,  in  his  Oriental  pas- 
sages as  elsewhere,  are  not  suggestive  of  any  great  renovation  in 
English  versification.  If  Byron  wrote  from  personal  observation 
in  the  Orient,  so  did  Lady  Montagu.  Moore  was  far  less  of  an  Ori- 
entalist than  Sir  William  Jones,  though  the  former  embodied  more 
of  his  knowledge  of  the  East  in  verse  than  did  the  latter.  In  the 
Oriental  verse  of  both  Moore  and  Southey,  the  reader  feels  a 
certain  artificiality,  a  striving  for  effect,  as  in  much  of  the  work  of 
the  Augustans.  In  both  poets  the  results  of  carefully  selected 
themes,  of  extended  literary  preparation,  of  laborious  composition, 
are  all  too  much  in  evidence. 

Yet  much  in  the  Orientalism  of  our  period  is  allied  with  the  new 
spirit.  As  a  phase  of  the  Romantic  Movement,  Orientalism  devel- 
oped, no  doubt  by  more  faltering  stages,  and  with  less  extensive 
results,  side  by  side  with  the  new  Gothic  and  Celtic  tastes,  and  in 
association  with  sentimentalism,  with  the  humanitarian  and  rev- 
olutionary spirit.  It  has  far  less  kinship  with  the  "return  to 
nature",  as  Romanticism  understood  it,  or  with  that  medievalism 
which  Professor  Beers  chooses  to  select  as  the  central  conception 
in  his  studies  of  English  Romanticism,     .\bove  all,  in  its  deepest 


/}  I'nirtT.tit/j  of  Kiinsas  Ifiiiititnistir  Studies 

p(U'tk'  sii^MiiticaiuH',  Orientalism  represents  that  cniving  for  free 
range  of  the  imai^ination,  that  craving  lo  escape  the  local,  the 
practical,  the  "regular",  that  at  times  almost  terrible  appetite  for 
the  unknown  and  the  limitless,  which  Paul  Elmer  More  rebukes 
so  firmly  in  his  Drift  of  Homaniicism.  The  hostility  of  the  classicist 
to  Oriental  art  itself  is  apparent  in  such  a  critic  as  John  Foster, 
loving  the  simple.^  Of  the  general  strangeness  of  the  Orient  to 
the  English  mind,  of  the  general  ignorance  of  that  mind  as  to 
Flastern  life — except  its  picturesque  surface — there  are  many 
records  in  English  prose  during  the  latter  part  of  our  period.  It 
was,  in  part,  just  this  strangeness,  just  this  sense  of  the  unknown 
and  the  unmeasured,  that  attracted  many  of  the  poets.  To  some 
of  them,  as  Orientalists,  ont  might  venture  to  ajiply  an  expression 
in  one  of  Keble's  lyrics — 

"Thy  tranced  yet  open  gaze 
Fixed  on  the  desert  haze."* 

In  our  period  the  w^ord  "Gothic"  (often  capitalized)  occurs  with 
more  frequency  than  "Oriental".  So  far  as  simple  phrases  go,  the 
relation  of  the  two  tastes  is  rather  neatly  indicated  by  these 
citations.  Lloyd  places  in  an  English  garden  a  'temple,  (iothic 
or  Chinese'.  Armstrong  actually  carries  the  Germanic  word  into 
the  regions  of  the  East.  He  writes  that  the  "cheerless  Tanais" 
flows  through  a  "Gothic  solitude".^  Both  the  Orient  and  the 
(jothic  North  were  adapted  to  produce  certain  emotional  or  sen- 
sational effects  of  remoteness  and  wildness;  both  were  rich  in  the 
evidences  of  the  decaN"^  of  human  achievements.  The  ruins  of  the 
temples  of  the  East  and  of  the  castles  of  the  North  were  both  ruins ; 
both  registered  the  frailty  of  the  conventional  pride  and  purpose 
of  man.  Both,  under  easy  conditions,  could  satisfy  the  romantic 
craving  for  silence  and  solitude. 

As  to  the  Celtic  taste,  only  the  lighter  element  in  Eastern 
mythology  harmonized  with  it.  But  this  lighter  element  was 
present — in  the  peris  and  houris,  in  the  milder  characters  among 
the  genii.  The  more  grim  elements  could  be  neglected  at  the  will 
of  the  poet.  Something  of  that  charming  wilfulness  of  feminine 
nature,  of  that  irresponsible  caprice  and  sudden  change  in  narra- 

7.  See  his  review  of  Oriental  Scenery;  and  his  other  essays  listed  in  the  Appen- 
dix. I.  C,  2. 

8.  The  Christian   Year;  Second  Sunday  after  Easter. 

9.  The  Art  of  Preserving  Health;  II.  U.     .364-5. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  15 

tion,  of  that  delicate  chariu  in  lyric  expression  which  are  asso- 
ciated with  Celtic  genius,  are  found  at  times  in  English  Oriental 
verse.  This  may  be  said  without  reference  to  the  i>ossible  remote 
historical  kinship  of  Celtic  and  Oriental  poetry. 

As  to  Occidentalism,  the  following  pages  will  note  more  than  one 
connection  of  this  interest — comparatively  new  in  the  Romantic 
period,  and  given  large  attention — with  the  taste  for  matters 
Eastward.  Many  a  poet's  fancy  travelled  indifferently,  in  the 
phrase  of  Keats,  "Or  in  Orient  or  in  West".  Both  regions  were 
generously  oi)en  to  fresh,  imtrammelled  poetic  treatment.  Both 
gave  abundant  opportunity  to  introduce  novel  words,  strange 
stories,  and  characters  far  more  nearly  'elemental  men'  than  the 
average  resirlents  of  London.  Burns  actually  bade  farewell  to  his 
friends,  ready  for  Jamaica,  but  he  also  wrote  one  poem  imagining 
himself  in  India.  Moore,  Campbell,  Mrs.  Hemans,  and  many 
other  poets  wrote  at  some  length  on  both  East  and  West.  With 
both  regions,  as  time  passed,  the  practical  relations  of  England 
became  so  pressing,  the  information  of  Englishmen  became  so 
much  larger  concerning  both,  that  it  became  difficult  to  summon 
the  old  motifs  of  the  wild  and  intangible.  Today  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  for  an  English  poet  to  dream  in  the  early  Nine- 
teenth Century  romantic  manner  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
American  'Forest  Sanctuary';  almost  impossible,  probably,  to 
think  of  the  Ganges  and  the  Eu[>hrates  as  streams  of  fancy 
unfettered  by  prosaic  facts. 

Sentimentalism  may  perhaps  lurk  in  Arabian  and  Persian  poetry. 
However  that  may  be,  the  English  sentimental  taste — not  destroyed 
by  any  number  of  parodies,  or  by  resolute  opponents  among  the 
playwrights — found  something  to  satisfy  it  in  Orientalized  verse. 
Persia  and  even  Africa  became  pastoral  countries,  companions  if 
not  ris^als  of  Sicily  and  Arcadia.  Sentimentality  is  one  of  the 
varied  notes  in  Sir  William  Jones  himself.  Tf  "earth's  melancholy 
map"  lay  open  to  the  sombre  imagination  of  Edward  Young,  Mrs. 
Hemans  found  it  possible  to  carry  the  sentiments  of  a  sensitive 
nature  into  many  of  the  remote  regions  of  the  globe,  including  the 
East.  There  are  many  sentimental  passages  in  The  Bride  of 
Abydos  as  well  as  in  Lalla  Rookh.  Long  before  these  works  were 
published  Collins  had  written,  in  the  preface  of  the  first  edition  of 
the  Eclogues,  that  "our  geniuses  are  as  much  too  cold  for  the  enter- 


Id  I  niirr.sttj^  of  Kan.s<u'<  U iiniinii.stic  Stiidies 

taiiiiuont  of  siicli  [Eastern]  sentiments,  as  our  climate  is  for  their 
fruits  and  spices". 

Perhaps  the  deepest  interpretation  of  the  Orient,  in  the  verse  of 
»>ur  period,  Mas  made  hy  EngHsh  poets  moved  by  the  varying 
humanitarian,  reform,  and  revolutionary  interests  of  the  day. 
There  are  a  host  of  poems  on  African  slavery  written,  most  of 
them,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  social  reformer.  The  con- 
templation of  the  tyrannies  of  the  East  aroused  vigorous  protest; 
the  enslavement  of  Eastern  peoples  to  cruel  or  superstitious  cus- 
toms and  creeds — such  at  least  to  English  thought — called  forth 
severe  criticism,  and  praises  of  the  mission  of  England  in  the  East, 
in  politics  and  religion.  The  dominion  of  the  proud  Turk  in 
(i recce,  while  it  cost  the  life  of  only  one  English  poet,  excited 
poetical  protests  from  many  pens.  In  Lalla  Rookh  even,  the 
struggle  for  liberty  is  one  of  the  themes,  and  Smollett  looked  with 
admiration  upon  the  Arabs  and  the  Tartars  as  peoples  conspicuous 
for  their  love  of  freedom.  Though  the  "brotherhood  of  man",  in 
a  Twentieth  Century  sense,  is  hardly  in  evidence,  many  of  the 
English  poets  spoke  against  tyranny  in  any  form,  and  showed  at 
least  poetic  sympathy  with  the  oppressed  sons  of  man,  in  the  East 
as  well  as  in  the  West.  In  the  decline  of  great  Eastern  tyrannies, 
they  often  found  a  direct  lesson  for  Europe.  Ozymandias  has  its 
sermon.  The  Orient  is  more  than  once  called  as  a  w  itness  against 
French  pride.  Shakespeare  and  Marlowe  felt  a  certain  enthusi- 
asm for  the  tyrant,  provided  he  was  suflSciently  great  and  successful 
in  his  tyranny;  but  the  times  changed — after  the  English  poets 
had    known   Napoleon. 

After  our  period,  many  of  the  traditions  of  Orientalism  are  car- 
ried on  with  little  essential  change  into  the  Victorian  and  post- Vic- 
torian eras.  Different  poets  continued  to  express  different  phases 
of  this  large  subject. 

Mathew  Arnold  felt  the  fatalism  of  the  East.  This  conception, 
together  with  local  color  which  he  obtained  from  Sir  John  Mal- 
colm's History  of  Persia,  he  wove  into  Sohrab  and  Rusium.  But 
Southey  also  dealt  with  the  fatalistic  element  in  the  thought  of  the 
East.  Edwin  Arnold  gave  sympathetic  interpretation  of  the 
religions  of  the  Orient  in  The  Light  of  the  World  and  The  Light  of 
Asia — though,  perhaps,  in  no  more  scholarly  manner  than  Sir 
William  Jones.  It  might  be  interesting  to  compare  the  diction 
and  the  themes  in  two  such  different  poems  as  Sohrab  and  Rustum 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  17 

and  The  Light  of  Asia.  In  general  tone  the  latter  bears  some 
resemblance  to  the  Oriental  poetry  of  Emerson  and  not  a  little  to 
that  of  Sou  they.  Elaborate  and  modern  as  it  is,  it  can  hardly  be 
said  to  mark  a  new  departure  in  the  same  degree  as  do  the  poems 
of  Browning  and  Kipling.  Sohrah  and  Rustum  is  one  of  the  noblest 
Oriental  poems  in  English  literature.  The  central  theme,  certainly, 
is  not  peculiar  to  the  Orient,  nor  are  the  mental  and  moral  tones 
of  the  poem.  The  spirit  of  the  poem  is  largely  Greek.  Sohrah  and 
Rustum  is  one  example  of  that  mingling  of  varied  and  even  oppos- 
ing styles  which  is  so  characteristic  of  English  poetry.  The 
settings  of  the  poem,  however,  general  and  specific,  are  Eastern; 
the  Oriental  diction  is  adequate  and  of  memorable  quality.  In 
beauty  and  depth  this  poem  is  superior  to  most  English  Oriental 
poems,  earlier  or  later. 

Browning  brings  into  Oriental  poetry  a  more  manly  humanity, 
a  more  generous,  deeper  morality  than  most  of  his  English  fellow 
poets.  Miss  Conant  has  discussed  the  moral  tale  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century  and  all  students  know  the  didactic  emphasis  of  that 
period;  but  Browning's  didacticism,  as  well  as  his  optimism, 
belongs  to  himself  alone.  He  was  much  interested,  along  with 
other  masters,  in  the  ethics,  the  wisdom,  the  mysticism,  the 
religion,  and  the  hot-headed  emotions  of  the  Oriental  peoples. 
These  themes  and  others  he  expressed  with  dramatic  force  and  with 
his  usual  psychological  insight  in  many  poems — Ferishtah's  Fancies, 
Ben  Karshook's  Wisdom,  The  Epistle  of  Karshish,  Rabbi  ben  Ezra, 
A  Death  in  the  Desert,  Luria,  The  Return  of  the  Druses,  Solomon 
and  Balkis,  Through  the  Metidja,  and  others.  In  Muleykeh  the 
vigor  of  such  phrases  as  "the  thunderous  heels"  and  "Buheyseh 
is  mad  with  hope"  are  in  striking  contrast  with  the  languorous 
tone  of  much  Eighteenth  Century  Oriental  verse.  The  Russian 
element,  in  whatsoever  form,  rarely  appears  in  the  verse  of  the 
English  Romantic  Movement.  Ivan  Ivanoritch  is  one  of  the  first 
important  embodiments  of  an  interest  which  develops  through  the 
remainder  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  and  into  the  Twentieth. 
Clive  is  almost  an  authority  on  its  subject. 

Tennyson's  Orientalism  is  considerable,  but  it  is  less  forceful  and 
less  original  than  that  of  Browning.  It  is  mainly,  if  not  entirely, 
in  the  Romantic  manner.  Tennyson  reveals  a  love  of  Eastern 
story  inherited  from  his  boyliood  reading  and  a  nuiture  English- 
man's interest  in  the  relations  of  the  Orient  to  his  own  countrv. 


/>'  I'liiriT.sitif  III   Kiin.'<(is  II iiiiniiiislic  Stiuhrs 

In  his  IxtC'illfcfitnis  of  the  Aniluun  Siijhts,  lio  has  chosen  a  tlieiiic 
f.miul  ill  M'voral  ptn-ts  of  ojir  jieriod.  In  tlie  Defense  of  Lucknow, 
MonieueijriK  and  olhcr  poems,  he  treats  tliat  military  strnggle 
hetwet-n  the  Kast  and  the  West  whieh.  in  other  forms,  was  an 
ini|>ortanl  snhject  in  The  Siege  of  Rhodes,  in  Iloole's  transhition  of 
Jeni.sdlem  Pelivcred,  and  in  many  a  lesser  poem  of  onr  period.  The 
(up  is  his  nearest  approach  to  an  Oriental  drama.  In  Ahbar's 
Dream  Tennyson  shows  less  of  the  mystical  and  phantasmagoric 
(pialily  associated  with  Hm'  Orient  than  appears  in  KnhUi  Khan; 
nu)re  of  the  ethical. 

Fitzgerald  is,  of  course,  a  figure  of  great  importance  in  a  sketch 
of  Kngiisji  Oriental  verse.  The  first  edition  of  his  Hubaiyai  aj)pear- 
ed  in  ISo!).  the  second  in  187'-2,  and  the  third  in  1879.  The  neatness 
and  comparative  independence  of  the  single  quatrain,  the  concise 
and  exotic  imagery,  the  love  of  happiness  and  the  half-worldly, 
half-mystical  philosophy  have  given  the  work  a  wide  and  an 
enduring  popularity.  Omar's  denunciation  of  the  inexorable  fate 
which  dooms  to  slow  decay  or  sudden  oblivion  all  that  is  charming 
and  beautiful  in  this  world  resembles  the  lament  of  many  a  poet 
of  tlie  Romantic  Movement.  Much  of  the  Oriental  diction  in 
I'itzgerald  is  similiar  to  that  in  English  verse  prior  to  1840.  The 
naturalism  of  the  Rubaiyat  is  of  a  somewhat  different  type  from 
that  appearing  in  the  Oriental  verse  of  Byron,  Southey,  or  any  of 
their  contemporaries. 

In  Kipling,  it  would  be  no  more  difficult  to  find  some  of  the  old 
Oriental  motifs  and  language  than  it  would  be  to  trace  the  English 
ballad  traditions  in  his  form  and  subjects.  The  Enghshman  in 
India  is  not  a  new  theme,  nor  is  that  of  the  heat  in  the  East.  What 
affects  us  in  Kipling  is  the  large  number  of  his  Oriental  poems,  his 
extensive  realistic  and  dialectic  vocabulary,  and  the  general  realism, 
modernism,  and  anti-academic  quality  of  his  work.  Though  he 
sounds  more  loudly  than  his  predecessors  the  note  of  imperialism, 
it  is  far  from  being  an  absolutely  new  note  in  English  poetry.  Yet 
Kipling,  on  the  whole,  is  new.  Sir  William  Jones  was  a  scholar;  he 
knew  East  Indian  life  in  ways  unknown  to  Kipling;  but  he  could 
not  have  expressed  the  tragic  shiver  and  the  mournful  music  of 
Oriental  experience  in  Danny  Deever  and  Gunga  Din,  or  the  humor 
and  irony  in  such  poems  as  Fuzzy-Wuzzy  and  Ounis.  The  Dove 
of  Dacca  relates  an  old  Bengal  legend,  not  in  the  scholarly  manner 
of  Sir  William  Jones  or  the  erudite  manner  of  Southey,  but  with 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  19 

a  touch  of  Moore's  sentimentalism,  Route  Marchin  and  many 
other  poems  are  in  Kipling's  own  style, 

The  further  story  of  Orientalism  in  English  verse  from  1840  to 
the  present  time  is  a  long  one,  which  cannot  even  be  outlined  here. 
It  includes  many  poets,  many  themes,  many  moods.  James 
Thomson,  like  Byron  and  Crabbe  and  Wordsworth  in  our  period, 
like  Tennyson,  was  influenced  by  his  early  reading  of  Arabian 
Nights.  His  City  of  the  Dreadful  Night  in  some  respects  suggests 
the  Oriental  poems  of  Southey.  Rossetti  reverts  to  the  theme  of 
ruined  grandeur  in  his  stately  Burden  of  Nineveh.  Charles  Mac- 
kay,  a  somewhat  voluminious  poet  probably  little  read  in  this 
country,  tells  a  legend  of  Australia  in  The  Lump  of  Gold,  and  em- 
bodies the  mysticism  of  the  Orient  proper  in  The  Prayer  of  the 
Priest  of  Isis.  He  joins  his  voice  to  that  chorus  of  singers  for 
liberty  which  is  prominent  in  the  period  of  our  study.  He  writes 
of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  in  The  Brotherhood  of  Nations 
records  of  words  breathing  the  spirit  of  international  comrade- 
ship— 

"From  the  cold  Norland  to  the  sunny  South — 
From  East  to  West,  they  warmed  the  heart  of  man." 

Sydney  Dobell  enters  the  field  of  Orientalism  in  Czar  Nicholas  and 
.1  Musing  on  a  Victory.  Andrew  Lang  unites  the  traditional 
theme  of  the  golden  East,  the  tradition  of  Ophir,  with  the  modern 
exploitation  of  the  wealth  of  Africa  in  his  Zimbabwe.  Ednmnd 
Gosse — cosmopolitan  in  his  verse  as  in  his  criticism— goes  back  to 
the  Persian  sources  in  his  rather  long  poem  on  Firdausiin  E.xile. 
The  deeper  note  in  much  recent  Oriental  verse,  in  contrast  with 
much  of  that  examined  for  this  study,  may  be  seen  by  a  comparison 
of  Mathilde  Blind's  sonnet  on  Nirvana  with  the  brief  fragment  on 
that  theme  in  Miss  Kaillie's  Bride.^^ 

In  The  Madras  House  oi  Granville  Barker  we  have  a  drama  par- 
tially Orientalized,  with  a  view  of  Mohammedanism  in  striking 
contrast  with  that  in  medieval  English,  Elizabethan,  or  Eight- 
eenth Century  tragedies. 

Orientalism  in  American  literature  has  a  somewhat  different 
tendency  at  present  from  that  in  English  literature;  owing  in  part 
to  our  greater  distance  from  Turkey  and  Persia  eastward,  and  our 


10.     Act  I.  close  of  Scene  2. 


fO  I'liltrrsitjf  of  Kuii.sas  II innoni.sllc  Studies 

imuh  rl»)siT  lu'iglihorhood  to  (liinii  and  Japan  westward.  In  the 
early  jK'riods  of  American  literature  the  conventional  themes  and 
diction  of  English  Orientalism,  like  most  conventions  of  English 
literature,  are  in  evidence.  Even  in  Emer.son,  one  finds  the  old 
phrases — the  "nuimmied  East",  "Africa's  torrid  plains",  the 
"grave  divan";  and  his  Oriental  vocabulary  includes  many  words 
worn  hy  time — "Ciiaours",  "caravan",  "Allah",  "dervish", 
"crocotiile",  "siroc",  and  many  others.  Yet  in  Emerson  there  is 
much  language  more  fresh  than  these  citations  indicate;  as  well  as 
an  unusual  aj)i)reciati()n  of  the  mysticism  of  the  East, — not  a 
mere  matter  of  literary  fashion,  but  rooted  in  the  nature  of  his 
imaginative  and  religious  life.  His  Oriental  poems  include  The 
Roriwujf  Girl,  tlie  Bohemian  Hymn,  Brahma,  (parodied  })y  Andrew 
Lang  in  a  poem  of  the  same  name),  Saadi,  several  of  the  Quatrains 
and  most  of  the  Translations.  The  recent  cult  of  Eastern  religions, 
and  the  vogue  of  Tagore  may  be  barely  mentioned. 

The  relations  of  America  to  the  Orient  based  on  the  AYar  of 
1898,  on  the  large  number  of  Orientals  in  this  country,  and  on  our 
present  commercial  and  diplomatic  problems,  have  been  more  or 
less  distinctly  recorded  in  verse  or  imaginative  prose.  Such 
dramatic  pieces  as  Madame  Butterfly  and  The  Bird  of  Paradise  may 
perhaps  be  insignificant  as  literature,  but  they  are  nevertheless 
poetic  renderings  of  the  modern  relations  of  the  East  and  the  West. 
The  contrast  in  ethical  and  emotional  nature  between  the  soul  of 
Eastern  peoples  and  the  soul  of  Western  peoples  appears  in  both 
these  plays.  It  is  an  old  theme,  prominent  in  the  verse  and  prose 
of  England  a  century  ago;  but  here  showing  new  forms  under  new 
conditions.  In  Omar  the  Tentmaker,  the  playwright  gives  careful 
attention  to  Eastern  coloring  in  the  characterization,  in  the  diction, 
and  especially  in  the  stage  settings.  By  weaving  into  the  text  some 
of  the  lines  of  Fitzgerald,  the  author  helps  to  bind  together  the 
American  Orientalism  of  today  with  the  English  Orientalism  of 
the  early  Victorian  period,  and  so  with  an  interest  which  may  be 
traced  back  to  Chaucer  himself. 

What  the  effect  of  the  present  world  crisis  may  be  on  this  special 
phase  of  English  poetry,  one  does  not  venture  to  prophesy.  One 
sees  today  new  and  startling  intermingling  of  Eastern  and  Western 
life — and  death.  In  the  era  soon  to  be,  who  can  tell  what  new 
themes,  what  undreamed  inspirations  of  hope  or  what  terrifying 
despair  may  come  to  English  poets  out  of  the  East.^ 


CHAPTER  II 

Oriental  Vocabulary 

Between  1740  and  1840  extensive  additions  were  made  to  the 
English  poetic  vocabulary.  Some  critics  have  considered  the 
enriching  of  language  in  England  and  on  the  continent  as  one  of 
the  most  important  results  of  the  Romantic  Movement.  English 
poets  enlarged  the  scope  of  their  diction  by  a  revival  of  medieval 
and  Elizabethan  terms,  and  they  also  went  abroad  into  fairly  fresh 
fields.  They  found  new  words  as  well  as  new  ideas  and  new  images 
from  Celtic,  Scandinavian,  Occidental,  and  Oriental  sources.  The 
fresh  Celtic  vocabulary  is  familiar  in  Burns,  Macpherson,  Collins, 
and  other  poets.  A  striking  Scandinavian  diction  is  found  in 
Motherwell, ^^  as  well  as  in  his  more  famous  predecessor.  Gray. 
Among  the  poets  who  introduced  geographical  or  cultural  terms, 
new  to  many  of  their  readers,  from  the  New  World  are  Bowles, 
Grainger,  Mrs.  Hemans,  Thomas  Moore,  James  Montgomery,  and 
Southey.  Not  rarely  a  poet  resorts  to  two  or  more  of  these  sources. 
Mrs.  Hemans  writes  The  Forest  Sanctuary,  as  well  as  The  Caravan 
in  the  Desert;  the  Oriental  diction  of  Lalla  Rookh  accompanies 
diction  drawn  from  Moore's  travel  in  Canada  and  the  States; 
Southey  wrote  A  Tale  of  Paraguay  as  well  as  The  Curse  of  Kehama. 

In  poem  after  poem  of  the  period  these  exotic  words  are  of  such 
character  as  to  require,  or  at  least  receive,  explanation  in  foot- 
notes; sometimes  in  glossary.  The  poets  did  not  assume  that 
their  readers  would  be  familiar  with  "bigging",  "kraken",  "pixie", 
"quaigh",  "Torngarsuck",  or  "sea-grape";  nor  with  "dallim", 
"kellas",  and  "Swerga".  The  scenes  of  Bowles'  Missionary  are 
in  South  America,  and  the  author  explains  quite  a  number  of 
words  used  in  the  text,  including,  Almagro,  Chilian,  chrysomel, 
cogul,  Guecubu,  ichella,  opossum,  Ulmen,  and  sea-blossom. 

During  our  period  some  few  poems  Oriental  entirely  or  in  part 


11.     See  his  Battle-Flag  of  Sigurd,   Wooing  Song  of  Jarl  Egill   Skallagrim,    and 
other  poems.     Note  also  the  two  Danish  Odes  "attributed"  to  John  Logan. 

21 


i*v?  I  nirfisiti/  nf  Kaii.sa.y  ]l uiiimnMic  Stmhcs 

wvvc  writliMi  ill  (Iivtk  or  in  Laliii.  l'rol);il>Iy  the  host  ox;iin})le.s  of 
thr  Oriental  porni  in  (ircek  arc  I'raed's  Pi/ramides  .Egi/pflacne  and 
In  Ohifiim  ...  Thomw  Fanshatrc  Middleton.  It  is  interestinjr  to 
note  that  the  hit  tor  poem  is  indehted  tt)  The  Curse  of  Kehania,  and 
that  it  presents  the  theme  of  the  suttee  among  other  Oriental 
subjects.    Ainonjj  the  distinctly  Oriental  lines  of  In  Obitinn  are, 

"Na/idrwv  Tzdrep,  HaOuTT/.ouTe  rd/ya\ 
"a  f-oypa  llw'ifD.tuvii'f  at)ka\ 

and. 

Sir  William  Jones  wrote  a  number  of  Oriental  poems  in  Latin. 
From  liis  FAegia  Arahica  one  may  .select  tliese  lines  as  examples  of 
the  Eastern  tone  or  theme  in  the  academic  tongue: 

"An  roseas  nudat  Leila  pudica  genas?" 


"Nardus  an  Hageri,  an  spirant  violaria  Meccae, 
Candida  odoriferis  an  venit  Azza  comis?" 

There  are  Oriental  passages  of  somewhat  didactic  quality  in  John- 
son's Sepiem  .Etates  and  in  Browne's  De  Auimi  Immortolitute.  In 
the  first  poem  is  this  line: 

"Imperium  qua  Turca  ferox  exercet  iniquum;" 

and  in  the  second  poem  this: 

'*A.spice  quas  Ganges  interluit  Indicus  oras. " 

The  English  form  of  certain  geographical  words  is  identical  with 
the  Latin  form,  as,  for  example,  in  the  case  of  Africa,  Byzantium, 
Euphrates,  Libya,  and  Tigris.  Occasionally  the  Latin  form  is  used 
in  place  of  the  English,  for  poetical  or  metrical  purposes.  "Nilus" 
is  a  common  substitute  for  "Nile". 

The  extent  of  the  English  Oriental  vocabulary  j)roper  will  of 
course  dei>end  on  the  definition  of  "Oriental".  Words  derived 
directly  or  indirectly  from  Oriental  tongues  would  probably  num- 
ber several  hundred.  Other  words,  of  whatever  linguistic  origin, 
are  naturally  and  habitually  associated  with  the  East.  Then 
follows  a  third  class  of  words,  large  and  indeterminate,  borrowed 
from  the  general  vocabulary  to  express  such  Oriental  motifs  as 
luxury,  remoteness,  etc.   A  complete  study  of  Oriental  style  would 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  23 

consider  words  of  this  third  class  as  worthy  of  close  attention, 
though  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  reduce  them  to  law  and  order. 

There  are  practically  no  words  in  the  verse  of  our  period  appear- 
ing in  the  characters  of  Oriental  alphabets. ^^  The  nearest  approach 
to  true  Eastern  word-form  is  found  in  transliteration.  In  the  verse 
of  Jones  there  are  several  hundred  transliterations,  largely  proper 
names,  of  which  only  a  few  have  even  yet  found  assured  place  in 
the  standard  English  dictionaries.^^  After  Jones  had  established 
the  method  in  English  verse  (for  in  some  sense  he  may  be  said  to 
have  introduced  it),  it  was  followed  by  later  Oriental  poets,  such 
as  John  Scott,  Byron,  Sou  they,  and  Mangan.  In  the  following 
twenty  lines  from  Jones'  Enchanted  Fruit,  there  are  thirteen 
examples  of  transliteration;  "nargal"  ("narghile")  being  the  only 
word  among  them  found  in  the  New  International  Dictionary  of 
1910. 

"Here  marked  we  purest  basons  fraught 
With  sacred  cream  and  famed  joghrat ; 
Nor  saw  we  not  rich  bowls  contain 
The  chawla's  light  nutritious  grain, 
Some  virgin-like  in  native  pride, 
And  some  with  strong  haldea  dyed; 
Some  tasteful  to  dull  palates  made 
If  merich  lend  his  fervent  aid, 
Or  langa  shaped  like  od'rous  nails, 
Whose  scent  o'er  groves  of  spice  prevails, 
Or  adda  breathing  gentle  heat. 
Or  joutery  both  warm  and  sweet. 
Supiary  next  (in  pana  chewed. 
And  catha  with  strong  i)owers  endued. 
Mixed  with  elachy's  glowing  seeds. 
Which  some   remoter  climate  breeds,) 
Near   jeifel  sat",  like  jeifel  framed. 
Though  not  for  equal  fragrance  named : 
Last,  nargal  whom  all  ranks  esteem. 
Poured  in  full  cups  his  dulcet  stream." 

A  partial  list  of  English  words  of  Oriental  derivation  is  given  in 
the  A'ppendix}'^  It  is  clear  that  many  of  these  do  not  belong  to 
the  poetic  vocabulary.  Others  arc  of  rare  occurence  in  the  verse 
of  our  period.     Of  those  that  remain,  some  are  very  Oriental  in 


12.  Byrom  introdncr's  words  in    Hebrew    characters  (in  Epistle  III  to  the  Rer. 
Sfr.  L — .),a  practice,  it  will  be  renipmbercd,  of  which  Flrowning  was  rather  fond. 

13.  See  the  Appendix,    II,  A. 

14.  Hec  II,  B. 


^J  L'nircnsiti/  of  Ka7isas  Humanistic  Studies 

.suggestive  value,  while  some  are  of  rather  indifferent  quality  in 
this  respect.  The  following  table  arranges  according  to  source  a 
few  of  the  words  of  genuine  Oriental  import  which  are  in  more  or 
less  common  use  in  the  verse  of  our  period.  (In  a  few  examples 
the  derivation  is  problematic.) 

Arabic :    alcove — amber — atabal — caliph — fakir — gazelle — 

giraffe — harem — houri — Koran — Mohammedan — minaret- 
monsoon — Moslem — mosque — nmezzin — mufti — nabob — 
saffron — Saracen — sheik — simoom — sirocco — sultan — 
tamarind — vizier. 

Avestan :    paradise. 

Egyptian:    gum. 

Malay :    bamboo — lory — proa. 

"Oriental " :   peacock. 

Persian :    attar — azure — bazaar — caravan — caravansary — 

dervish — divan — firman — jackal — jasmine — khan — lemon — 
lilac — Magi — Mogul — musk — orange — pagoda — peri — 
saraband — scarlet — scimitar — shah — tiger. 

Russian :    Cossack. 

Sanskrit :    avatar — banyan — beryl — Brahman — camphor — 
champac — crimson — jungle — rajah — rice — sandal-wood — 
Veda. 

Tatar :    horde. 

Turkish :    coffee — dey — giaour — Janizary — kiosk — pasha — 
tulip — turban. 

The  list  in  the  Appendix  shows  a  remarkable  preponderance  of 
nouns  over  the  other  parts  of  speech.  This  fact  is  of  interest  from 
the  poetic  as  well  as  the  linguistic  point  of  view.  Only  two  verbs 
are  given — "chouse"  and  "garble" — ,  neither  of  any  poetic  value. 
The  words  which  may  be  considered  pure  adjectives  are  only  five: 
azure,  crimson,  saccharine,  Sanskrit,  and  scarlet.  Words  which 
by  the  average  reader  are  probal)ly  conceived  as  having  some 
adjective  quality  are  more  mimerous: —  bamboo,  Bedouin,  bril- 
liant, calico,  gamboge,  Moslem,  Mohammedan,  mammoth,  orange, 
Ottoman,  rattan,  saffron,  shagreen,  silk,  and  Tartar.  There 
remain  some  two  hundred  and  thirty  nouns.    It  is  clear  that  Eng- 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  S5 

lish  Oriental  verse  must  depend  on  words  from  non-Oriental 
sources  for  its  rapid  narration,  its  analysis  of  psychic  process — or 
else  omit  such  matters  altogether. 

A  brief  note  on  words  of  Hebrew  derivation  may  not  be  amiss. 
Skeat  gives  a  list  of  about  eighty-five  such  words,  a  list  which  is 
somewhat  altered  by  the  Neic  International.  Some  of  these  words 
belong,  in  the  verse  of  our  period,  quite  as  much  to  the  Oriental 
vocabulary  as  to  the  Biblical  in  a  narrow  sense.  Among  them  may 
be  named,  balm,  balsam^  camel,  cassia,  cinnamon,  ebony,  elephant, 
hyssop,  sapphire,  and  teraphim.^^  There  are  many  other  words  in 
the  King  James  version  of  the  Bible,  of  various  derivation,  which 
belong  to  the  Oriental  vocabulary. ^^ 

Our  Oriental  poets  paid  considerable  attention  to  propriety  in 
their  diction.  Byron  distinguishes  the  Itahan  form  of  "giaour" 
from  the  more  Eastern  form.  Montgomery  accompanies  the 
phrase  "medzin's  cry"  with  a  footnote  explaining  that  the  proper 
form  of  the  word  is  "muedhin".  Yet  the  ideal  of  embodying 
Oriental  theme  in  purely  Oriental  language  was  at  times  curiously 
neglected,  and  at  all  times  except  for  brief  passages  practically 
impossible.  One  does  not  find  "cromlech"  or  "Woden"  intro- 
duced into  an  Oriental  context;  but  there  are  a  number  of  refer- 
ences to  a  "glen"  in  Lalla  Rookh,  and  to  Bowles  the  Tartar  society 
is  composed  of  "clans".  "Glittering"  and  other  words  from  the 
same  Scandinavian  root  are  of  frequent  service  in  Jones  and  his 
followers.  The  term  "pastoral"  seems  at  first  reading 
strangely  applied  to  Madagascar  (Mickle's  Lunad),  or  to  Gara- 
mant  (Shelley).  To  American  readers  a  "canoe"  may  probably 
seem  a  strange  boat  for  the  east  coast  of  Africa ;  but  the  etymolog- 
ical authorities  tell  us  the  word  is  probably  of  African  origin. 
"Cacique",  however,  occasionally  found  in  Oriental  context,  is 
an  importation  from  the  West. 

An  interesting  example  of  varied  appeal  in  different  words  for 
the  same  object  is  found  in  the  pseudo-classical  "Philomela",  the 
English  "nightingale",  and  the  Oriental  "bulbul".  In  the  early 
part  of  our  period,  especially,  the  evidences  of  pseudo-classical 
diction  are  all  too  numerous,  and  conventional  diction  of  regulation 
Eighteenth  Century  type  blurs  the  Oriental  quality  of  many  a 


15.  Stnitliey  uses  the  singular  '  'teraph".  in  The  Curse  of  Keliama.  in  strictly 
Oriental  context. 

16.  See  the  Appendix,  II,  C. 


i'6'  I'liircrsitif  of  Kansas  Ilumunisfic  Studies 

passiij^c.  Ill  llio  Oiicnlal  life  of  Jones*  verse  love  is  a  "smart'';  in 
this  or  that  passage  of  other  poets  we  find  the  "Armenian  knight ", 
the  "Syrian  dames",  and  "Asia's  fair". 

Among  the  most  connnon  Oriental  words  in  the  English  verse  of 
our  period  are  proi)er  names,  geographical  and  personal.  This  i.s 
true  in  a  degree  of  Persian,  Arabian,  Turkish,  and  East  Indian 
passages,  but  is  especially  marked  for  such  outlying  regions  as 
central  Africa,  Siberia,  and  Lapland,  whence,  at  the  time  in  ques- 
tion,  comparatively  few  native  words  other  than  i)roper  names  had 
entered  the  English  language.  The  exotic  quality  in  the  diction 
of  Coleridge's  Lapland  passage  in  the  Destiny  of  Nations  depends 
mainly  on  some  half  dozen  strange  place-names.  Coleridge  in  this 
respect  has  made  no  progress  beyond  Thomson,  who  in  the  north- 
eastern passage  in  Winter,  while  relying  mainly  on  geographical 
names,  introduced  "caravan",  "sable",  and  "reindeer". 

Consultation  of  maps  or  books  of  travel  is  an  easy  process,  and 
not  a  few  poets  introduce  geographical  words  rare  if  found  at  all 
in  the  verse  of  other  poets.  Among  such  words  are  Bojador,  Bom- 
bay, Cormandel,  Madras,  Molucca,  Oka,  Pekin  and  Sumatra,  in 
Dyer;  Bassora,"  in  Collins;  Benares  and  Ki  (a  river),  in  Jones; 
Dahomay,  in  Walter  Scott;  Beder  and  Hoangho,  in  Southey; 
Istakar,  Liakura,  and  Ukraine,  in  Byron;  Carmanian  and  Choras- 
mian,  in  Shelley.  There  are  rare  words  in  each  of  the  two  passages 
compared  just  above;  in  Thomson,  Niemi,  Tenglio,  and  Tornea; 
in  Coleridge,  Balda  Zhiok,  Lieule-Oaive,  Niemi,  and  Solfar- 
kapper. 

Among  the  most  common  words  of  this  class  are  Arabia,  Atlas, 
Africa,  Assyria,  Babylon,  Egypt,  Ethiopia,  Euphrates,  Ganges, 
Libya,  Persia,  Russia,  Scythia,  Tartary,  and  Tigris.  The  words  in 
the  following  tabulation  are  of  more  or  less  frequent  occurence; 
and  are  examples  from  a  much  longer  list  that  could  be  given:'* 

Abyssinia  Bengal  Cairo 

Algiers  Bengala  Calcutta 

Bactria  Bokhara  Cashmere 

Bagdad  Bosphorus  Cathay 

Balbec  Byzantium  Caucasus 

Barbary  Caffraria  Ceylon 


17.  Found  in  Emerson's  Ilermionc;  doubtless  in  other  English  poets. 

18.  The  spelling  is  often  very  various,  and  antiquated,  as  in  the  case  of 
Sahara  ",  and  •Tahiti." 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme 


21 


Chilminar 

r^ahore 

Samarcand 

China 

Lapland 

Senegal 

Damascus 

Moscow 

Shiraz 

Danube 

Nineveh 

Siam 

Fez 

Nubia 

Susa 

Golconda 

Numidia 

Tahiti 

Japan 

Ormus 

Tibet 

Java 

Sahara 

Volga 

Kamchatka 

The  proper  names  for  persons  include  those  of  Oriental  gods,  of 
historical  or  legendary  characters,  and  of  the  dramatis  personae  of 
tale,  drama,  or  lyric.  If  the  Gothic  revival  emphasized  such  names 
as  Woden,  Balder  and  Valkyrie,  Oriental  taste  responded  with  its 
Allah,  Buddha,  Brahma,  Isis,  Osiris,  Nealliny,  and  Vishnu.  One 
could  readily  make  a  longer  reckoning  than  this  from  the  verse  of 
Jones  alone.  Among  the  historical  or  legendary  names  are  Con- 
fucius, Ghengis  Khan,  Hafiz,  Mahomet,  Osman,  Sadi,  Sardanap- 
alus,  Semiramis,  and  Zenobia.  The  names  of  contemporary 
celebrities  in  the  East  are  comparatively  rare.  Oriental  fiction  has 
its  Leila,  Abdallah  and  Hassan,  who  take  their  places  beside  the 
Daphnis  and  Chloe  of  pastoral  poetry,  and  the  Laura,  Lesbia  and 
Delia  of  love  lyrics.  It  is  not  often  that  such  a  splendid  name  is 
discovered  as  that  which  Shelley  gives  us  in  "Ozymandias". 

The  word  "Orient"  itself  is  not  uncommon,  but  is  in  less  fre- 
quent use  than  "The  East",  which  occurs  in  a  multitude  of 
phrases — "the  golden  East",  "the  burning  East",  "the  soft 
luxurious  East",  "Venice  and  the  East",  "the  East  for  riches 
famed",  etc.  The  adjective  "Oriental"  seems  less  frequent  in 
verse  than  in  prose;  and,  again,  "Eastern"  is  often  a  substitute. 
It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  "Occident"  and  " Occidental "  are 
of  rather  infrequent  occurence.  If  one  accepts  a  liberal  interpre- 
tation of  "Oriental",  one  must  reckon  with  "South"  as  often 
significant  of  much  the  same  poetic  qualities  as  were  associated 
with  the  Orient  proper.  In  fact  the  contrast  between  England 
and  Persia  or  Arabia  sometimes  takes  the  form  of  a  'North  and 
South'  phrase.  There  are,  of  course,  more  general  expressions, 
such  as  'Moslem  lands',  'paynim  countries',  etc. 

Special  poetic  forms  for  familiar  words  are  frequent.  The  rather 
bewildering  variety  in  spelling  is  of  slight  literary  interest,  except 


SS  I'niirr.^ity  of  Kaunas  Humanistic  Studies 

ill  nisos  whon*  the  phonetic  or  rhythmical  value  of  the  word  is 
cssonli}illy  alterctl.  So  far  as  literary  meaning  goes,  Bramin, 
Hracliman.  Hrahiniii,  and  Brahman  may  probably  be  considered 
idiMitical.  The  oxij^'cncios  of  rhyme,  meter  or  rhythm,  or  the 
»'fTt)rl  to  fasiiion  jxH-tic  diction,  however,  produce  some  interesting 
variants.  Thus  one  finds  Afric,  Bengala,  Bombaya,  Buddh, 
Hyzance.  Bazantion,  Calicut,  Ganga,  and,  very  frequently,  Ind. 

Words  created  by  English  poets  after  Oriental  models  are  not  of 
great  signiticance.  "Ozymandias" — if  the  word  is  a  product  of 
Shelley's  imagination — may  be  taken  as  perhaps  the  best  of  its 
chuss.  Many  another  proper  name  is  coined,  due  attention  being 
given  to  certain  characteristic  consonants.  Search  in  the  verse  of 
Blake  would  probably  discover  some  Orientalized  words  used  for 
the  purposes  of  the  mystic.  For  humorous  effects,  one  may  note 
the  "Crocodilople"  of  Southey,  and  the  long  list  of  "outlandish" 
Russian  names  in  his  March  to  Moscow.  Moore  passes  beyond 
Southey,  however,  in  daring  if  not  in  humor,  in  his  burlesque 
Russian  word  of  twenty-eight  letters — "  Wintztschitstopschin- 
zoudhoff":'^ 

The  compounds  found  in  Oriental  verse  are  of  no  little  interest. 
Some  are  transliterations;  some  are  fashioned  from  words  of  Ori- 
ental derivation;  some,  of  whatever  etymology,  express  a  char- 
acteristically Oriental  conception,  image,  or  poetic  tone.  ^Vhile 
the  formation  of  compounds  is  no  special  privilege  of  the  Romantic 
poets,  the  best  examples  are  probably  found  in  the  later  poets  of 
our  period,  especialh^  in  Byron,  Moore,  and  Shelley.  Others,  how- 
ever, sometimes  of  high  poetical  quality,  are  scattered  through  a 
thousand  pages  of  a  hundred  other  poets.  Only  a  few  examples,  of 
special  Oriental  value,  can  be  given  here: 

AUah-illa-AUah  Desert-wearied  (Keble) 

Atar-gul  Fire-god 

.\ullay-horse  (Southey)  Fur-clad  Russ  (Cowper) 

Camel-driver  Gem-emblazoned   (Peacock) 

Citron-dram  Hunter-founder  (i.  e.,  Nimrod) 

Cobra-di-capel  (Shelley)  Million-peopled  (Shelley) 

Date-season  Minaret-crier 

Desert-circle  Mosque-like 


\9.     In  The  Twopenny  Post  Bag;  Letter  V. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  29 

Mosque-work  Seraglio-guard 

Mother-land  of  all  the  arts  Seven-headed  idol 

(of  Egypt,  Southey)  Spice-time 

Mummy-king  Sun-idolater 

Musk-wind  (Moore,  Mangan)  Swer-god  (Southey) 

Nile-bird  Turban-forms 

Prophet-chief  (i.  e.,  Mahomet)  Vapor-belted  (of  the  Pyra- 
Razeka-idol  (Southey)  mids,  Shelley) 

River-dragon  {i.  e.,  crocodile)  Widow-burning 

Sand-waves  Wul-wulleh 

Scymetar-petals  (of  the  lily,  Zemzem-well 

Mangan) 

A  distinct  though  slight  service  of  Oriental  diction  to  English 
verse  is  found  in  the  matter  of  rhyme.  No  examples  are  found  in 
the  Persian  Eclogues,  but  a  half  century  later  this  detail  of  tech- 
nique is  quite  conspicuous;  in  The  Bride  of  Abydos,  and  Lalla 
Rookh,  among  other  poems.  In  The  Bride  of  Abydos  "divan", 
"Carasman",  and  "Galiongee"  are  used  twice  in  rhyming  posi- 
tion; and  fifteen  other  words,  including  Oglou,  Ottoman,  sherbet, 
scimetar,  etc.,  are  so  used.  In  Lalla  Rookh  we  find  about  thirty- 
six  Oriental  words  at  the  end  of  the  verses ;  Cashmere,  Bendemeer, 
Chilminar,  Nile,  and  Samarcand,  each  twice,  Araby  three  times, 
Nourmahal  seven  times.  Among  the  other  rhyming  words  of  this 
poem  are  Amberabad,  Candahar,  cinnamon,  Caliphat,  Isfahan, 
Jamshid,  Kathay,  kiosk,  Malay,  myrrh,  Saracen,  Sultana,  Shad- 
kiam.  Zenana,  and  ziraleets.  Mrs.  Hemans  rhymes  "scimetar" 
with  "bear",  and  with  "war".  Praed  uses  "Bengal"  some  four  or 
five  times  as  a  rhyming  word. 

Many  words  of  this  Oriental  vocabulary,  the  vocabulary  of  the 
"soft,  luxuriant  East",  have  a  phonetic  beauty  and  delicacy. 
Perhaps  none  can  equal  those  words  of  gliding  vowels  which 
Stevenson  discovered  and  praised  in  the  islands  of  the  South,  but 
those  word  melodies  do  not  belong  to  the  main  body  of  English 
verse.  A  true  poet  could  scarcely  use  any  of  the  following  words 
without  some  sense  of  charm  in  the  mere  sound:  Araby,  Arabia, 
Arabian,  azure,  cinnabar,  Chilminar,  cassia,  gazelle,  Leila,  Mala- 
bar, spicy,  Siberia.  These  are  chosen  from  a  very  considerable 
vocabulary  offering  similar  values. 

On  the  other  hand,  for  moods  more  strenuous,  there  are  Oriental 


30 


I'liirfrxitj/  of  Kmisa.s  II iiniiiiiistic  Sivdiea 


xvonls  of  snllifUM.t  cons.MianUil  fmlion— WDrds  like  a  hiss  or  a 
Mow.  suK'i;o>^tinii  spirilrd  action,  thouoli  they  are  nouns,  ^\lth 
surh  a  value,  at  U-ast  io  the  imaginative  reader,  appear  Caucasus, 
Cos.aek.  (lauL'es  ^Maour,  Janizary,  Juggernaut,  muezzin,  sheik, 
vi/.ier.  and  uk.mv  others.  Something  of  the  effect  of  ferocious 
utlaokin  Motherwell's  Oiujlotrs  On.slawjh(,  A  Turkish  Battle  Song 
is  surely  gained  hy  an  apt  use  of  Oriental  diction— in  these  lines, 
for  ♦•\ainple: 

"Tehassan  Ouglou  is  on! 
'IVhassan  Ouglou  is  on! 


For  the  liesh  of  the  Giaour 
Shriek  the  vultures  of  heaven. 

Bismiilah!     Bismillah! 

Through  the  dark  strife  of  Death 
15ursts  the  gallant  Pacha." 

While  there  was  a  lively  interest  in  Oriental  words  on  the  part  of 
many  oi  the  poets  of  our  period,  it  is  doubtful  if  many  of  them  paid 
as  close  attention  to  root  meanings  as  the  English  poet  is  expected 
to  pay  in  the  case  of  classical  or  native  vocabulary.  Often  the 
ultimate  meaning  of  the  words  used  was  probably  unknown. 
Jones  gives  his  readers  some  careful  notes  on  the  etymological 
significance  of  the  names  of  certain  Indian  deities.  Probably  some 
|)oets  imaged  black  eyes  when  they  wrote  "houri",  and  felt  the 
effect  of  the  root  meaning  "poison"  when  they  referred  to  the 
simoom.2»  But  it  is  only  a  great  poet  or  a  great  scholar  who  can 
be  trusted  to  consider  words  habitually  as  the  records  of  remote 
e\-i>erience  or  fancy  in  the  lives  of  men;  and  many  of  the  authors 
of  our  study  were  essentially  verse  writers  rather  than  artists. 


20.     Thp  word  "jungle"  is  an  interesting  example  of  wandering  from  the  ancient 
root  meaning,  which  Skeat  gives  thus:     "Skt.  jangala,  adj.  dry.  desert". 


CHAPTER  III 

Oriental  Phrase  and  Figure 

For  present  purposes  by  "phrase"  is  meant  any  simple  combi- 
nation of  words,  coherent  when  isolated,  a  line  or  less  in  length. 
Even  the  adjective-noun  form  indicates  much  concerning  the 
general  character  of  Oriental  diction.  This  paper  should  prove, 
if  proof  were  needed,  that  the  English  Oriental  poets  are  not  mere 
phrasemongers;  yet  a  good  deal  of  the  novelty  and  of  the  special 
value  of  the  Oriental  taste  is  shown  by  examination  of  the  simpler 
elements  of  its  language. 

There  are  many  titles  clearly  Oriental  in  diction;  others  give  no 
clue  to  the  Eastern  quality  of  the  poems.  On  a  Beautiful  East- 
Indian,  The  Moorish  Maiden's  Vigil,  The  King  of  the  Crocodiles, 
The  Enchanted  Fruit;  or.  The  Hindoo  Wife,  The  Caravan  in  the 
Desert,  and  many  others^^  are  in  themselves  interesting  phrases. 
Persian  Eclogues  is  as  suggestive  as  Danish  Odes.  The  Trav- 
eller at  the  Source  of  the  Nile  is  almost  a  poem  in  itself,  as  is  The 
Wail  of  the  Three  Khalendeers. 

The  refrain  is  often  found,  sometimes  with  genuine  Oriental 
value,  sometimes  without.  It  is  used  by  ColHns  in  his  third 
Eclogue,  in  Lalla  Rookh,  and,  late  in  our  period,  by  Mangan. 
"Karaman"  is  found  as  a  complete  line  twenty-three  times  in 
Mangan's  Karamanian  Exile.  Tendency  of  the  Romantic 
Movement  to  favor  the  refrain  is  apparent  in  the  verse  we  are 
studying,  though  it  may  perhaps  yield  no  such  striking  examples 
as  the  refrains  of  The  Lady  of  Shalott,  Sister  Helen— (n  of  Pre- 
Raphaelite  poetry  in  general.  Few  if  any  such  lines  as  Tennyson 
repeats  in  the  body  of  the  verse  in  the  Idylls  of  the  King — 

"From  the  great  deep  to  the  great  deep  he  goes". 


"Clothed  in  white  samite,  mystic,  wonderful,"-- 


21.     See  Appendix,    I.  A. 

21 


^g  rtiirrrsitif  of  Kansiis  Humanistic  Studies 

apix-ar  in  tlu-  Orit-ntal  [ux'try.  The  most  dynamic  Oriental 
rrfraiiis  arc  t ruiislihMat ions,  such  as  Motherwell's  "Allah,  il 
allah."  aiul  '•nisniillah!  Hisinillah!" 

The  i)iiicly  Oriental  phrases,  composed  of  words  derived  from 
Kastorn  lani^uai^os  or  of  strictly  Eastern  connotation,  are  not 
nunuToiis.  and.  from  the  nature  of  the  English  language,  they  are 
l»ricf.  A  few  oxami)les  are  PoUok's  "Tartar  horde",  Southey's 
"Moorish  horde",  Thomson's  "horde  on  horde",  Smart's  "tur- 
hancil  Turk".  Ilarte's  "Moorish  sarabands",  and  Chatterton's 
"scarlet  jasmines".  Other  exami)les  could  be  found  in  personal 
nan\<'s  and  in  jiassages  of  geographical  description. 

(leographical  phrases  are  among  the  most  conspicuous.  Many 
of  thcni  arc  what  may  be  called  "spatial  phrases",  in  which  the 
sense  of  distance  is  expressed.  Such  phrases,  when  of  two  terms, 
may  have  both  in  the  Orient,  or  one  in  the  Orient  and  the  other 
elsewhere.  A  model  for  the  first  class  is  found  in  the  first  verse  of 
the  Book  of  Esther — "From India  even  unto  Ethiopia".  A  simple 
example  of  the  second  class  is  found  in  the  familiar  "From  China 
to  Peru".  As  most  of  these  geographical  phrases  are  of  the  same 
general  character,  not  many  citations  need  be  given.  In  a  few  of 
the  following  the  idea  of  contrast  is  expressed.  The  first  example 
is  of  a  familiar  type,  in  which  a  mere  list  of  geographical  units  is 
given. 

Blake:    China  and  India  and  Siberia. 

Burns:    From  Indus  to  Savannah. 

Cunningham:    From  Zembla  to  the  torrid  zone. 

Harte:     'Midst  Abyssinian  flames  or  Zembla's  frost. 

Jenyns :    From  frozen  Lapland  to  Peru. 

Keats :    Or  in  Orient  or  in  west. 

Langhorne:    From  Bactria's  vales  to  Britain's  shore. 
From  Ganges  to  the  golden  Thame. 

Ly  ttelton :    From  Atlas  to  the  Pole. 

Mickle's  Lusiad:    From  Calpe's  summit  to  the  Caspian  shore. 

Peacock:    From  northern  seas  to  India's  coast. 

Pollok :    From  Persia  to  the  Red  Sea  Coast. 

Pollok  and  Wordsworth:    From  Agra  to  Lahore. 

I*racd :    Arabia's  sands  or  Zembla's  snows. 

Mrs.  Iladclilfe:    From  Lapland's  plains  to  India's  steeps. 

Shelley:    From  the  Andes  to  Atlas. 

Wilkie:    From  Zembla  to  the  burning  zone. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  S3 

An  example  of  this  type  with  some  special  interest  is  found  in 
the  common  'either  Ind',  or  'both  the  Indies'.  At  times  this 
phrase  refers  undoubtedly  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  East  Indies, 
but  the  reference  is  sometimes  obscure.  In  the  following  citation 
its  strictly  Eastern  range  is  clear: 

"Either  India  next  is  seen 
With  the  Ganges  stretched  between.  "^^ 

But  Southey  writes, 

*'In  Eastern  and  in  Occidental  Ind." 

In  compiling  a  considerable  number  of  simple  phrases  in  which 
"east"  ("East")  or  "eastern"  ("Eastern")  is  the  basal  word,  one 
perhaps  trespasses  somewhat  on  the  study  of  Oriental  themes,  but 
it  seems  convenient  to  consider  the  matter  here.  While  during 
our  period  the  word  " Gothic"  is  in  frequent  service,  one  questions 
whether  it  would  be  as  easy  to  gather  as  many  examples  of  phrases 
with  that  word  as  it  was  to  collect  the  following.  Certainly  one 
could  read  far  and  wide  before  as  numerous  examples  as  those 
below  could  be  found  for  phrases  with  "West",  "Western",  or 
"Occidental". 

Among  the  nouns  to  which  "eastern"  (or  "Eastern")  is  prefixed 
in  our  verse  are :  Arab  —  bards  —  beauty  —  bower  —  calm  — 
caste  —  clan  —  diamond  —  evening  —  fire  —  gems  —  gold  — 
grandeur  —  heart  —  hunt  —  isles  —  jewels  —  kings  —  lands  — 
legend  —  Magi  —  magician  —  minds  — monarchs  —  moonstone  — 
nabobs  —  Nile  —  opal  —  opulence  —  oppression  —  pageantry  — 
parliament  —  patriarchs  —  pearls  —  pomp  —  queens  —  rajah  — 
ruby  —  ruins  —  satrap  —  star  —  story  —  tales  —  talisman  — 
warfare.  x\mong  the  phrases  with  "east"  or  "East",  in  addition 
in  addition  to  those  previously  given,  are:  the  liberal  East,  the 
wondrous  East,  the  slumberous  East,  the  East  wrought  by  magic, 
the  Imperial  City  of  the  East,  etc. 

There  are  almost  innumerable  examples  of  phrases  formed  by 
lists  of  items  in  the  same  category — the  names  of  persons,  deities, 
flowers,  animals,  etc.  These  may  be  given  simply  to  represent 
the  type: 

Byrom :    Sophy,  Sultan,  and  Czar. 


22.     James  Montgomery:     A  Vouage  Round  the  World. 


54  I'niirr.'iiti/  of  Kanffas  li uiimuistic  Studies 

(awthorn:    Of  Isis,  Ibis,  Lotus,  Nile. 

Ilarto:    Moloch  and  Mammon,  Chiun,  Dagon,  Baal. 

Iloolo's  Orlando  Fnrio.so:    Moors,  Turks,  and  Tartars. 

Maiigan:    Cluehre,  Heathen,  Jew  and  Gentoo. 

Montgomery:    Jews,  and  Turks  and  Pagans. 

Smollett :    Jews,  Turks,  and  Pagans. 
Such  series  in  Oriental  verse  rarely  have  the  beauty  of  the  list  of 
feminine  names  in  The  Blessed  Damozel;  nor  have  they  received, 
in  all  probability,  such  severe  criticism  as  Nordau,  in  Degeneration, 
gave  to  Rossetti's  passage. 

Certain  items  given  above  have  suggested  the  imitative  and 
conventional  element  in  the  phrasing  of  the  Oriental  poets.  Such 
results  are  due  in  part  to  inheritance  of  pseudo-classical  tenden- 
cies; in  part,  to  the  nature  of  Oriental  themes,  and  particularly  to 
their  novelty  in  English  verse.  A  study  of  conventionalized 
phrase  is  of  value  for  its  indication  of  the  social  mind  of  the  era. 
Occasionally  an  individual  poet  will  write  the  same  phrase  several 
times.  Milton's  "Araby  the  blest"  occurs  three  times  in  the  ob- 
scure verse  of  Thompson.  Boyse  responds  with  a  thrice-used 
"  Zembla's  icy  coast ".  There  are  a  number  of  natural  associations 
of  ideas  or  images  which  lead  to  association  of  words  in  the  phrase. 
Thus  we  often  find  named  together  the  Cross  and  the  Crescent, 
the  Turk  and  his  turban,  the  rose  and  the  nightingale,  the  Chaldean 
and  the  stars,  Mahomet  and  Allah,  Zembla  and  frost,  snow,  or  ice. 
"Harut"  and  "Marut"  are  as  naturally  members  of  a  single 
phrase  as  Damon  and  Pythias,  or  Roland  and  Oliver.  Perhaps  no 
better  e.Kample  could  be  given  of  a  strictly  stereotyped  phrase  than 
"Tyrian  dye",  though  even  this  is  varied  to  "Tyrian  purple". 
One  or  the  other  of  these  last  expressions  is  found  in  poet  after 
poet,  minor  and  major. 

The  epithetical  phrase  proper  is  also  very  frequent,  and  is  the 
result  of  the  same  influences  that  shaped  the  conventional  phrase. 
The  pseudo-classical  facility  in  phrases  of  this  type  is  impressed 
on  every  reader  of  Waller.  To  that  poet  it  is  natural  to  say  that 
a  trumpet  is  "loud",  that  a  noise  is  "powerful".  Is  it  Waller  or 
one  of  his  followers  who  is  responsible  for  "watery  sea".'*  Some 
of  these  epithetical  phrases  are  taken  from  Greek  and  Latin  poetry 
and  have  therefore  a  certain  historical  dignity.  Others  are  due  to 
lack  of  imagination  or  imaginative  effort  on  the  part  of  the  poet; 
others  as  clearly  give  emphasis  to  certain  characteristics  in  Ori- 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  35 

ental  matters  which  attract  the  fancy.  The  Ganges  is  often 
"sacred",  the  Nile  often  "seven-mouthed",  sometimes  "oozy", 
"slimy",  frequently  "fertile"  or  "o'erflowing".  To  many  writers 
the  Pyramids  are  simply  "tall"  or  "old"  or  even  "Egyptian". 
Shelley's  fine  "vapor-belted"  stands  out  in  clear  relief.  To 
one  poet  the  Danube  is  "huge",  to  Campbell,  "dark-rolling". 
The  crocodile  is  "armed",  or  "scaly";  the  desert  variously  "burn- 
ing", "dry",  "scorching",  "vast",  or  even  "sandy"  and  "un- 
fruitful". The  effect  of  a  rather  slight  variation — looking  almost 
like  a  printer's  error — is  seen  in  the  comparison  of  "wandering 
Arab's  tent",  and  "Arab's  wandering  tent". 

While  the  elephant  is  found  in  Chaucer,  probably  the  first 
serious  efforts  of  English  poets  to  give  it  adequate  description 
date  from  our  period.  In  Langhorne  this  ciuadruped  is  "pon- 
derous", in  Thomson,  "huge",  in  Jago,  "unwieldy",  in  Shen- 
stone,  "tusky".  Hoole,  in  his  translation  of  Jerusalem  Delivered, 
fashions  a  phrase  with  two  of  these  adjectives  and  the  idea  of  a 
third — "The  huge  elephant's  unwieldy  weight".  Epithetical,  no 
doubt,  but  more  poetic  are  the  compounds  "castle-crowned",  and 
"  tower-crowned  ".  Shelley  makes  a  good  phrase  out  of  very  simple 
elements  in  the  "wise  and  fearless  elephant ".^^ 

A  good  example  of  a  phrase  at  once  conventional,  epithetical, 
and  of  Oriental  etymology,  is  "Tartar  horde". 

What  may  be  called  the  "formal  poetic  phrase"  has  some  kin- 
ship with  the  epithetical  phrase,  but  in  characteristic  form  appears 
in  somewhat  longer  expressions.  Such  phrases  may  be  lyrical  in 
quality,  but  are  perhaps  more  likely  to  be  epic  or  merely  descrip- 
tive. They  are  often  cheapened  by  reliance  upon  such  details  as 
capitalization  and  alliteration,  and  particularly  by  overuse;  but 
at  their  best  add  something  to  the  Oriental  values  of  the  verse. 
This  is  particularly  true  when  they  are  virtualy  translations  of 
Oriental  conceptions;  as  in  Moore's  "Apricots,  Seed  of  the  Sun", 
or  Thomson's  "stony  girdle  of  the  world",  which  he  explains  as  an 
English  rendering  of  the  Russian  "Weliki  Camenypoys" — a 
name  for  the  Riphean  Mountains.  "God  and  The  Prophet", 
"Mahomet  is  His  Prophet"  are  other  examples  of  phrasing  shaped 
in  the  East.    Or  the  English  expression  may  be  credited  to  some 


23.  Shelloy  is  not  always  above  following  less  poetic  predecessors.  His  "Scythian 
frost"  has  no  originality :  we  find  "Scythian  snows"  in  Fergusson,  and  "Scythla's 
snow-clad  rocks"  in  Mickle. 


,^0  I'nircr.'o'tij  of  Konson  Humanistic  Studies 

foreign  western  poet :  "  Imperial  (Calicut"  occurs  several  times  in 
Miikle's  Aii,*j(j(/.  Whatever  its  origin,  "Mountains  of  the  Moon" 
is  found  several  times  in  the  verse  of  James  Montgomery,  and  is 
once  used  hy  Thomson.  Sometimes  the  poet  plays  variations  on 
his  linguistic  theme,  as  later  Tennyson  varied  "Holy  Grail"  with 
■'Holy  Thing",  "Holy  Vessel",  "Holy  Cup",  etc.  Southey  pre- 
sents till'  Siinorg  as  the  "Ancient  Simorg",  the  "Ancient  Bird", 
and  tlu-  ■■  Hiril  of  Ages". 

This  formal  type  of  phrase  is  much  more  frequent  in  some  poets 
than  in  others.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Oriental  verse  of  Southey, 
Mt)orc,  and,  probably  to  a  less  extent,  of  Byron  and  Mangan. 
While  based  in  part  on  pseudo-classical  methods,  it  belongs  in 
large  part  to  what  might  be  called  pseudo-romanticism.  Yet  in 
its  ft)rmal,  decorative,  frequently  figurative  qualities,  it  may  often 
be  a  true  sign  of  Oriental  style.  Its  general  type  is  familiar  to  any 
reader  of  the  Apocalypse;  and  it  is  probably  found  in  all  literatures 
of  ptH)j>les  who  love  ceremony.  The  values  of  the  following  ex- 
amples will  be  readily  perceived: 

Akenside:    The  Python  of  the  Nile. 

Blair:    The  mighty  troublers  of  the  earth. 

Bowles:    The  City  of  the  Sun. 

The  Chambers  of  the  dead. 
The  God  of  silence. 

Byron :    Blest — as  the  Muezzin's  strain  from  Mecca's  wall. 
With  Maugrabee  and  Mamaluke. 

Macaulay :    The  Palace  of  the  golden  stairs. 

The  city  of  the  thousand  towers. 

Mangan :    The  Flower  of  Flowers. 

The  Old  House  with  the  Ebon  Gates  (i.  e.,  the  earth). 
Scales  and  Bridge. 
The  Shadow  of  God. 
The  Time  of  the  Roses. 

Moore:    The  Feast  of  Roses. 
For  God  and  Iran. 
The  Isles  of  Perfume. 
The  land  of  Myrrh. 
The  Light  of  the  Harem. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  37 

People  of  the  Rock. 

Prophet  of  the  Veil. 

Province  of  the  Sun. 

The  Spirit  of  Fragrance. 

Yizd's  eternal  Mansion  of  the  Fire. 

The  Moon  of  Love. 

The  Queen  of  Slaves. 

Southey :    Bowers  of  Paradise. 

Guardian  of  the  Garden. 
Icy  Wind  of  Death. 
Master  of  the  Powerful  Ring. 
Prince  of  the  Morning. 
Servant  of  the  Prophet. 
Sorceress  of  the  Silver  Locks. 
Spirit  of  the  Sepulchre. 

After  reading  a  thousand  such  expressions  as  "Afric's  burning 
sands",  "the  wealth  of  all  the  Indies",  and  "spic^  Arabian  gales"; 
after  familiarity  with  such  prosaic  expressions  as  "late-discovered 
Tibet"  and  "the  long  canals  of  China";  after  noting  the  fre- 
quency of  such  phrases  as  those  just  given;  after  realizing  the 
cheaper  phases  of  the  Oriental  diction — one  is  glad  to  discover 
fresh  and  vigorous  language  in  this  field,  whether  it  takes  the  form 
of  humor,  or  of  genuine  individual  imagination.  There  are,  to 
use  a  figure  surely  appropriate  in  this  connection,  not  a  few  oases 
in  the  "sandy  waste".  In  a  mood  of  distaste  for  the  trite  ex- 
pressions, even  "flat-nosed  China"  seems  a  welcome  phrase;  and 
one  is  glad  to  read  of  the 

'land  of  muslin  and  nankeening, 
the  land  of  slaves  and  palankeening;' 

glad  to  try  to  realize  the  simple  but  surely  Oriental  conception  in 
"some  tiger-tamer  to  a  nabob",  to  listen  to  Mason's  "pigmy 
chanticleer  of  Bantam",  or  pass  into  the  reception  room  to  greet 
that  "Chinese  nymph  of  tears,  green  tea".  Such  a  phrase  as 
"snorting  camels"  helps  one  to  believe  the  camel  was  sometimes 
a  real  animal  to  the  imagination  of  the  English  poet. 

In  biverbal  phrase  or  longer,  as  a  matter  mainly  of  diction  or 
mainly  of  imagery,  many  expressions  are  found,  of  more  elevated 
type  than  those  just  given,  which  add  something  to  the  l^eauty  or 


,j,s'  rnircrsiln  of  K(tns(i.'<  Ilumanisiic  Studies 

iWiiuhy  of  Kuf^lish  vorse.  Tlie  Lai)l;incl  witch  is  a  conventional 
i.lca,  h\\\  Wordsworth  gives  us  "Laphuid  roses",  and  Shelley  the 
simile.  "Lovely  as  a  Lapland  night".  It  is  Shelley,  also,  who 
writes  "the  swart  tribes  of  Garaniant  and  Fez",  "the  sins  of 
Nlani".  "the  million  i)eoi)led  city  vast",  "the  rose-ensanguined 
ivory".  .Vniong  the  more  decorative  phrases  of  Byron  are  "a 
Koran  of  illumined  dyes",  "fragrant  beads  of  amber",  "lamp  of 
fretteti  gi»ld",  and  "Sheca//  tribute  of  perfume".  I.andor,  for 
all  his  classicism,  occasionally  falls  into  the  luxuriant  style  of 
Oriental  verse,  as  in 

"Arabian  gold  enchased  the  crystal  roof", 
and, 

"Myrrh,  nard  and  cassia  from  three  golden  urns". 

The  tendency  is  of  course  toward  such  decorative  expressions. 
Wordsworthian  taste  found  little  to  satisfy  it  in  genuine  Oriental 
style.  Yet  there  are  themes  within  the  wide  range  of  Oriental 
taste  that  could  be  expressed  w  ith  a  noble  simplicity,  and  at  some- 
what rare  intervals  were,  so  expressed.  Wordsworth  himself 
writes  the  line, 

"Mindful  of  Him  who  in  the  Orient  born", 

and  Hawker  has  a  similar  line — 

"Therefore  the  Orient  is  the  home  of  God". 

Crabbe  images  Egj'pt  as  a  "far  land  of  crocodiles  and  apes",  and 
Montgomery  notes,  simply  enough  for  the  nonce,  how  "terribly 
beautiful  the  serpent  lay  ".    Cowper  has  this  line  in  Expostulation : 

"Tlie  fervor  and  the  force  of  Indian  skies." 

Beddoes  in  general  is  over-ornate  and  often  vague;  but  he  is 
capable  of  such  Imes  as  these,  even  in  Oriental  passages: 

"The  skull  of  some  old  king  of  Nile. " 


"Under  the  shadow  of  a  pj'^ramid. " 

One  might  suppose  the  thought  of  the  desert  would  lead  to  some 
clear,  restrained  expressions.  Perhaps  these  selections  from  Rogers, 
Beddoes,  Bowles  and  Keble,  in  the  order  named,  may  be  credited 


as  such: 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  sg 

"Every  wild  cry  of  the  desert." 
"A  spectre  of  the  desert  deep." 
"The  camel's  shadow  on  the  sand." 
"The  dry  unfathomed  deep  of  sands." 
Peacock  is  hardly  less  severe  in  the  line, 

"O'er  deserts  where  the  Siroc  raves." 

Yet  one  must  return  again  and  again  to  the  more  characteristic 
style,  as  "flowery"  as  the  plain  of  Zabran  and  the  vale  of  Aly  in 
(.Rollins'  fourth  Eclogue.  Much  was  written  in  the  prose  of  our 
period  concerning  the  figurative  nature  of  Eastern  stj'le;  and  this 
nature  of  course  appears  in  the  English  Oriental  and  Orientalized 
verse.  In  the  preface  to  the  1 772  edition  of  his  poems,  Sir  William 
Jones  asks  the  reader  to  "compare  the  manner  of  the  Asiatic  poets 
>\'ith  that  of  the  Italians,  many  of  whom  have  written  in  the  true 
spirit  of  the  Easterns. "  In  his  text  he  includes  a  number  of  son- 
nets and  portions  of  sonnets  from  Petrarch,  in  the  original  and 
translated  into  English,  that  the  reader  may  make  the  comparison 
suggested  in  the  preface.  In  his  essay  On  the  Poetry  of  the  Eastern 
Nations  he  gives  in  transliteration  an  ode  of  Hafiz,  and  translates 
it  into  English  thus — according  to  his  statement,  "word  for  word  " : 
"O  sweet  gale,  thou  bearest  the  fragrant  scent  of  my  beloved; 
thence  it  is  that  thou  hast  this  musky  odour.  Beware!  do  not 
steal:  what  hast  thou  to  do  with  her  tresses?  O  rose,  what  art 
thou,  to  be  compared  with  her  bright  face?  She  is  fresh,  and  thou 
art  rough  with  thorns.  O  narcissus,  what  art  thou  in  comj)arison 
of  her  languishing  eye?  Her  eye  is  only  sleepy,  but  thou  art  sick 
and  faint.  O  pine,  compared  with  her  graceful  stature,  wiiat 
honour  hast  thou  in  the  garden?  O  wisdom,  what  wouldst  thou 
choose,  if  to  choose  were  in  thy  power,  in  preference  to  her  love? 
O  sweet  basil,  what  art  thou,  to  be  compared  with  her  fresh  checks? 
They  are  perfect  musk,  but  thou  art  soon  withered.  O  Hafez,  thou 
wilt  one  day  attain  the  object  of  thy  desire,  if  thou  canst  but 
support  thy  pain  with  patience."  This  surely  is  to  some  degree 
comparable  with  the  "conceits"  of  the  Elizabethan  Muse,  in- 
toxicated by  the  wine  of  Petrarchism.  It  also  suggests  some 
Oriental  passages  in  Byron,  and  much  in  the  style  of  Lalla  Rookh. 

The  Arabians  also  make  many  figurative  comparisons  in  their 
poetry.     They  compare  the  foreheads  of  their  mistresses  to  tlic 


^0  ['nirrrsifi/  of  Kansas  IIunHniistic  Studies 

morning',  tluir  looks  to  the  night;  their  faces  to  the  Sun,  the  Moon, 
or  to  hlossoiiis  of  jasnuno;  their  straight  form  to  a  pine-tree  or  a 
jiivfhn.  etc. 

It  is  natural  to  expect  some  attention  to  this  characteristic  of 
Kastern  jMu-try  in  the  Oriental  poems  of  Byron  and  Moore,  and 
the  reader  is  not  disappointed.  Both  in  the  text  and  in  the  usual 
footnotes  of  the  period,  specific  examples  are  given  of  the  results 
of  Arabian  or  Persian  imagination  in  the  form  of  simile  or  metaphor. 
This  passage  in  The  Giaour,  is,  according  to  Byron,  an  "Oriental 
simile": 

"On  her  fair  cheek's  unfading  hue 
Tlie  young  pomegranate's  blossoms  strew 
Their  bloom  in  blushes  ever  new." 

From  Moore's  annotation  of  Lalla  Rookh  we  learn  that  "the  two 
black  standards  borne  before  the  Caliphs  of  the  House  of  Abbas 
were  called,  allegorically,  the  Night  and  the  Shadow".  Further, 
that  the  mandrake  is  the  Devil's  candle;  that  falling  stars  are  the 
firebrands  good  angels  use  to  drive  away  the  bad;  that  fingers 
tinted  with  henna  are  like  the  tips  of  coral  branches;  that  the 
Malays  call  the  tube-rose  the  "Mistress  of  the  Night",  and  that 
in  their  language  one  word  serves  for  "women"  and  "flowers". 

Other  English  poets  are  perhaps  not  quite  so  much  inclined  to 
follow  Eastern  style  in  its  figurative  aspects.  In  certain  passages, 
either  in  verse  or  prose,  one  occasionally  notices  a  tendency  to 
apologize  for  an  over-decorative  quality,  according  to  the  ancient 
fornnda  of  Chaucer  in  another  matter — it  was  so  put  down  in  'my 
author'.  Jeffrey  opens  his  rather  elaborate  and  on  the  whole 
enthusiastic  review  of  Lalla  Rookh-^  with  some  approval  and  sonje 
disapproval  of  the  general  glamour  of  its  style.  "The  beauteous 
forms,  the  dazzling  splendours,  the  breathing  odours  of  the  East, 
seem  at  last  to  have  found  a  kindred  poet  in  that  green  isle  of  the 
West;  whose  Genius  has  long  been  suspected  to  be  derived  from  a 
warmer  clime,  and  now  wantons  and  luxuriates  in  those  volup- 
tuous regions,  as  if  it  felt  that  it  had  at  length  regained  its  native 

element There  is  not,  in  the  volume  now  before  us,   a 

simile  or  description,  a  name,  a  trait  of  history,  or  allusion  of 
romance  which  belongs  to  European  experience;  or  does  not 
indicate  an  entire  familiarity  with  the  life,  the  dead  nature,  and 


■J4.      In  the  Edinburgh  Review,  November.  1817. 


Osborne:    Orieiiial  Diction  and  Theme  ^i 

the  learning  of  the  East.  Nor  are  these  barbaric  ornaments  thinly 
scattered  to  make  up  a  show.  They  are  showered  lavishly  over  all 
the  work;  and  form,  perhaps  too  much,  the  staple  of  the  poetry — 
and  the  riches  of  that  which  is  chiefly  distinguished  for  its  richness." 
But  the  critic  adds:  "we  rather  think  we  speak  the  sense  of  most 
readers  .  .  .  that  the  effect  of  the  whole  is  to  mingle  a  certain 

feeling  of  disappointment   with   that  of  admiration! to 

dazzle,  more  than  to  enchant — and,  in  the  end,  more  frequently 
to  startle  the  fancy,  and  fatigue  the  attention,  by  the  constant 
succession  of  glittering  images  and  high-strained  emotions,  than 
to  maintain  a  rising  interest,  or  win  a  growing  sympathy,  by  a  less 
profuse  or  more  systematic  display  of  attractions. " 

Such  unfavorable  opinion  of  the  highly  colored  style  of  Oriental 
poetry,  or  of  poetry  Orientalized  in  England,  did  not  begin  with 
Jeffrey.  At  the  opening  of  our  period  Collins  wrote,  apparently 
with  the  idea  of  defense  in  mind,^^  of  the  "rich  and  figurative" 
style  of  the  Arabian  and  Persian  poetry  in  contrast  with  the 
"strong  and  nervous"  style  of  his  countrym.en.  Shortly  before 
Jeffrey's  review  appeared,  John  Foster  had  occasion  to  review  a 
translation  of  the  Ramayuna?^  He  opened  his  remarks  thus: 
"Scarcely  so  much  as  a  third  part  of  a  centurj'  has  passed  away, 
since  a  large  proportion  of  the  wise  men  of  here  in  Europe  were 
found  looking,  with  a  devout  and  almost  trembling  reverence, 
toward  the  awful  mysteries  of  Sanscrit  literature."  The  dis- 
appointment of  the  sturdy  soul  of  Foster  when  the  "mysteries" 
arrived  in  the  form  of  the  translated  masterpiece  is  evident 
throughout  his  review.  He  writes  of  the  Ramayuna,  it  is  "a 
formless  jumble  ....  [it]  will  encounter  utter  contempt  in 
Europe  ....  The  lingo  in  which  these  feats  are  narrated,  defies 

all  imitation An  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  popularity 

of  this  sort  of  reading  in  Europe  .  ,  .  would  be  the  vast  number  of 
names  by  which  each  of  the  gods  or  heroes  is  designated",  etc. 

It  is  well,  perhaps,  that  in  most  of  our  Orientalized  verse  the 
rich  coloring  is  not  emphasized,  that  the  sparkling  similes  and 
metaphors  are  often  a  mere  passing  adornment  of  some  more  or 
less  simple  English  conception,  in  some  cases  quite  practical,  even 


2.5.  See  the  original  preface  of  his  Eclogues.  Professor  Phelps"  statement  in  The 
English  Romantic  Movement  (p.  95)  that  Collins  "apoIoBized"  for  the  florid 
manner  of  Abdaliah  of  Tauris  seems  a  little  too  strong. 

26.     See  his  paper  on  Sanscrit  Literature;  listed  in  AvP'-ndix,  I,  C,  2. 


l£  I'nircrsity  of  Ktiufos  Huinmiisdc  Studies 

liiilairtii-.  The  followinji  ox;Mnplcs  may  indicate  the  quality  and 
ranije  «)f  surli  H^miivs.  Few  poets  of  our  period  attained  the  sim- 
plicity of  style  found  in  Sohrait  and  Jiiistum,  but  in  style  Arnold's 
|MMMu  is  hardly  Oriental. 

Hluke:    "  Ul:i<k  ;is  marble  of  Kgypt." 

(  aiiipbcll:       "  Vs  easily  as  the  Arab  reins  his  steed." 
"Tiiat  rpas-tree  of  power." 
"Sultan  of  the  sky."  (For  the  eagle.) 

Chatterton:     "Swift  as  the  elk." 

Hartley  Coleridge:    "Keener  than  the  Tartar's  arrow." 

Keble :    "The  tresses  of  the  i)alnj.  " 

Lloyd:  "In  curves  and  angles  twists  about 
Like  Chinese  railing,  in  and  out. " 
(Of  the  prosody  of  tlie  Pindaric  ode.) 

Montgomery:    "Mad  as  a  Libyan  wilderness  by  night 

With  all  its  lions  up,  in  chase  or  fight." 

Praed:    "Swift  as  .  .  .  the  flight  of  a  shaft  from  Tartar  string." 

Procter:    "Witching  as  the  nightingale  first  heard 
Beneath  the  Arabian  heavens." 

"Wild  as  a  creature  in  the  forest  born 
That  springs  on  Asian  sands." 

Shelley :    "A  Babylon  of  crags  and  aged  trees. " 

"  Rose  like  the  crest  of  cobra-di-capel. " 

Southey:    "Proud  as  a  Turk  at  Constantinople." 

Wilson :    "...  lovely  as  the  western  sky 

To  the  wrapt  Persian  worshipping  the  sun. " 

Beddoes  shapes  a  common  metaphor  into  the  phrase,  "tears  of 
crocodile  coinage ".  Another  expression  of  his  is  "  the  hieroglyphic 
human  soul";  still  another,  unhappy  perhaps  but  forceful  in  its 
way,  "whole  Niles  of  wine".  That  he  can  attain  directness  and 
simplicity  even  in  his  metaphors  is  shown  by  this  selection: 

all  the  minutes  of  my  life 

Are  sands  of  a  great  desert." 


CHAPTER  IV 

Oriental  Passage  and  Poem 

Orientalism  in  English  verse  appears  in  the  word,  the  phrase,  the 
passage,  the  poem,  and  group  of  poems.  In  this  chapter  some 
discussion  is  given  to  the  last  three  of  these  units  of  structure. 

The  passage  varies  in  length  from  one  line  to  a  hundred  lines  or 
more.  As  a  matter  of  significance  in  the  history  of  English  poetry, 
(Orientalism  is  concerned  in  large  part  with  these  thousands  of 
passages,  of  varied  tone,  on  varied  themes,  scattered  through  the 
most  diverse  poems  by  poets  of  widely  different  schools,  from 
Chaucer  to  Kipling. 

As  examples  of  the  couplet  passage,  we  may  take  the  following, 
the  first  from  Piaed's  Australasia,  the  second  from  Newman's 
Solitude : 

"On  thee,  on  thee  I  gaze,  as  Moslems  look 
To  the  blest  Islands  of  their  Prophet's  Book." 

"  By  this  the  Arab's  kindling  thoughts  expand. 
When  circling  skies  inclose  the  desert  sand." 

Occasionally  one  finds  an  Oriental  stanza  as  well  unified,  as 
distinct  from  the  context,  as  some  of  the  best  known  stanzas  of 
The  Fairy  Queen  or  The  Castle  of  Indolence.  A  few  stanzas  of  this 
type  occur  in  some  of  the  poems  of  The  Christian  Year.  In  William 
Thompson's  Hymn  to  May,  the  thirteenth  stanza  is  almost  a 
]>oem  in  itself;  if  not  a  poem  of  very  high  quality: 

"All  as  the  phenix,  in  Arabian  skies, 
New-burnished  from  his  spicy  funeral  pyres. 
At  large,  in  roseal  undulation,  flies; 
His  plumage  dazzles  and  the  gazer  tires; 
Around  their  king  the  plumy  nations  wait. 
Attend  his  triumph,  and  augment  his  state: 
He,  towering,  claps  his  wings  and  wins  th 'ethereal 
height. " 


^^  rnltfr.tity  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 

I'otMns  wliuli  may  he  called  Oriental  in  their  entirety  often 
c»utaiii  passages  of  heif^htonecl  Oriental  value,  either  in  diction  or 
ill  presentation  «)f  sharply  dehned  theme;  just  as  in  pastoral  poems 
then*  are  frequent  passages  of  pastoralism  par  excellence.  The 
liritic  »>f  Miss  Haillie,  for  example,  is  Oriental  as  a  whole,  but  the 
Nirvana  j)assage  at  the  close  of  I,  2,  and  the  palanquin,  elephant, 
and  monkey  passages  in  the  opening  of  the  next  scene,  stand  out 
ill  rather  hi^h  relief. 

There  are  in  our  period  numerous  poems  of  a  type  which  natur- 
ally includes  Oriental  reference.  For  convenience  we  may  call 
this  type  the  "world-poem".  In  poems  of  this  class  the  poet 
passes  from  country  to  country,  either  for  the  mere  delight  of 
wandering,  or  for  the  purpose  of  tracing  the  history  or  present 
status  of  some  idea,  some  social  condition,  or  some  phase  of  nature. 
Without  attempting  a  complete  enumeration,  the  following 
poems  of  this  type  or  closely  allied  with  it  may  be  named: 

Akenside:    The  Pleasures  of  the  Imagination. 
Armstrong;    The  Art  of  Preserving  Health. 
Blair:    The  Grave. 
Bowles :    The  Spirit  of  Discovery  by  Sea. 

The  Spirit  of  Navigation. 
Campbell:    The  Pleasures  of  Hope. 
Cawthorn:    The  Vanity  of  Human  Enjoyments. 
Coleridge:    The  Destiny  of  Nations. 
Dyer:    The  Fleece. 
Langhorne:    Fables  of  Flora. 
Mallet :    The  Excursion. 

James  Montgomery :    A  Voyage  Round  the  World. 
Pollok :    The  Course  of  Time. 
Rogers:    Ode  to  vSuperstition. 
Smollett:    Ode  to  Independence. 
Joseph  Warton :    Fashion :  A  Satire. 

Ode  to  Liberty. 
Young:    Night  Thoughts. 

These  all  contain  Oriental  oassages.  For  present  purposes 
.Montgomer>''s  poem  of  imaginary  travel  is  one  of  the  best.  It 
o[>ens  with  the  stanza : 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  -^5 

"Emblem  of  eternity, 
Unbeginning,  endless  sea! 
Let  me  launch  my  soul  on  thee. " 

We  first  touch  earth  in  Greenland — a  favorite  country  with  this 
author;  then  pass  to  Labrador,  Canada,  New  England,  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  West  Indies,  across  South  America;  to  begin  the  Oriental 
portion  of  the  trip  in  "pale  Siberia's  deserts". 

In  one  or  another  poem  with  the  world- view,  we  find  the  roll- 
call  of  great  rivers,  as  in  Peacock's  Genius  of  the  Thames,  of 
famous  cities,  of  lands  and  of  peoples.  Probably  there  are  no 
stranger  Oriental  passages  in  any  English  poet  than  some  of  those 
in  Blake;  yet  in  the  first  quotation  below  we  have  a  bare  simplicity, 
suggesting  some  of  the  American  catalogues  of  Whitman,  which 
is  in  striking  contrast  with  the  mysticism  of  the  second  passage: 

"France,  Spain,  Italy,  Germany,  Poland,  Russia, 
Sweden,  Turkey, 

Arabia,  Palestine,  Persia,  Hindostan,  China,  Tar- 
tary,  Siberia, 

Egypt,  Lybia,  Ethiopia,  Guinea,  Caffraria,  Negro- 
land,  Morocco, 

Congo,  Zaara,  Canada,  Greenland,  Carolina,  Mexico, 

Peru,  Patagonia,  Amazonia,  Brazil, — Thirty-two 
Nations.  "^7 

"Egypt  is  the  eight  steps  within,  Ethiopia  supports 

his  pillars, 
Lybia  and  the  Lands  unknown  are  the  ascent  without: 
Within  is  Asia  and  Greece,  ornamented  with  exquisite  art; 
Persia  and  Media  are  his  halls,  his  inmost  hall  is 

Great  Tartary; 
China  and  India  and  Siberia  are  his  temples  for 

entertainment.  "^* 

A  form  of  simple  geographical  concept  is  found  in  what  may  be 
called  the  "compass-passage".  It  often  has  obvious  affinity  with 
the  " China  to  Peru  "  phrase  noticed  in  Chapter  III.  "  Simple "  in 
general,  for  in  Blake,  again,  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass  are 
given  mystical  meaning. 

As  suggested  by  some  of  the  titles  given  above,  this  or  that  poet 
traces  poetry,  superstition,  liberty,  commerce,  disease  or  death 


27.  Jerusalem,  Chapter  III  (72). 

28.  Ibid.,  Chapter  III  (58). 


^$  I'liirfrsitji  of  A.'a/(.s'</.v  Iliiiinini^^iic  Stitdie.'i 

anniiul  llu-  glohc.  ;iiul  for  ;ill  iheso  llioiuos  and  others  the  Orient 
offers  its  conlril>uli<>n.  Thus  in  Fashion :  A  Satire,  Joseph  Warton 
seleets  from  the  Kast  a  curious  custom  of  the  Tartar,  and  of  the 
Chinese,  and  his  Imha  is  a  hind, 

'*  Where  sainted  Brachmans,  sick  of  life,  retire, 
'l\>  che  spontaneous  on  the  spicy  pyre. " 

Such  travels  ol'  fancy  are  not  new  in  our  period.  It  will  be  remem- 
hertd  that  Tlioinson  journeys  far  and  wide  to  find  appropriate 
examples  of  tlie  heat  and  fructifying  power  of  summer,  and  the 
storms  and  ilcsolation  of  winter;  not  forgetting  to  visit  the  Orient 
in  hotli  seasons. 

A  special  interest  attaches  to  Oriental  passages  in  poems  of 
Celtic,  Gothic,  Occidental,  and  Biblical  quality;  largely  by  way  of 
contrast.  Brief  touches  that  might  be  considered  Oriental  are 
found  in  Miss  Baillie's  William  Wallace ^^^  Hogg,  in  his  poem  on 
the  same  hero,  introduces  a  couplet  on  the  "great  Tartar". 
In  Montgomery's  Greenland  we  find  this  passage  of  unmistakable 
Eastern  flavor: 

"  Unwearied  as  the  camel,  day  by  day. 
Tracks  through  unwatered  wilds  his  doleful  w  ay, 
Yet  in  his  breast  a  cherished  draught  retains. 
To  cool  the  fervid  current  in  his  veins, 
While  from  the  sun's  meridian  realms  he  brings 
The  gold  and  gems  of  Ethiopian  kings."'" 

Miss  Baillie's  Christopher  Columbus  contains  at  least  a  mention  of 
the  Moors,  while  in  Rogers'  poem  on  Columbus  there  is  a  passage 
of  six  lines  given  to  the  Oriental  desert.'^  No  more  interesting 
examj)le  of  contrast  could  be  found  than  this  passage  from  Rogers' 
Human  Life,  though  the  poem  as  a  whole  is  English  or  vague  in 
setting: 

"At  night,  when  all,  assembling  round  the  fire. 
Closer  and  closer  draw  till  they  retire, 
A  tale  is  told  of  India  or  Japan, 
(}f  merchants  from  Golcond  or  Astracan, 
What  time  wild  Nature  revelled  unrestrained. 
And  Sinbad  voyaged  and  the  Caliphs  reigned:— 
Of  some  Norwegian,  while  the  icy  gale 

29.  Strophes  .'>8  and  91. 

30.  Canto  I. 

31.  Canto  VIII. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  ^7 

Rings  ill  her  shrouds  and  beats  her  iron  sail, 
Among  the  snowy  Alps  of  Polar  seas 
Immovable — forever  there  to  freeze! 
Or  some  great  caravan,  from  well  to  well 
Winding  as  darkness  on  the  desert  fell. 
In  their  long  march,  such  as  the  Prophet  bids, 
To  Mecca  from  the  land  of  Pyramids, 
And  in  an  instant  lost — a  hollow  wave 
Of  burning  sand  their  everlasting  grave!" 

Whether  we  include  Wells'  Joseph  and  His  Brethren  among 
Oriental  poems  or  not  is  a  matter  of  definition.  Its  source  is  in 
the  Old  Testament  and  its  coloring  partly  Hebraic,  but  against 
the  general  background  there  are  several  passages  of  the  clearest 
Oriental  value;  especially  the  Prologue  of  Act  II,  and  in  I,  3,  II,  3 
and  III,  3.  In  III,  3,  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  Oriental  context  we 
have  this  excellent  example  of  a  brief  faunal  passage : 

"The  supple  panther  and  white  elephant. 
The  hoary  lion  with  his  ivory  fangs. 
The  barred  tiger  with  his  savage  eye. 
The  untamed  zebra,  beasts  from  foreign  lands, "  etc. 

Campbell's  Gertrude  of  Wyoming  is  an  interesting  poem,  showing 
several  distinct  historical  influences.  Written  largely  in  Spen- 
serian stanza,  with  scenes  and  characters  of  the  new  world,  and 
'entirely  Germanized  in  style',  it  is  not  without  its  Oriental 
touch,  slight  though  it  be.  Stanza  24  of  Part  II  closes  with  the 
lines, 

"And  more  than  the  wealth  that  loads  the  breeze 
When  Coromandel's  ships  return  from  Indian  seas. " 

It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  the  word  "Indian"  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  poem,  but  outside  this  passage  refers  to  the  red 
man  of  America. 

Many  other  examples  could  be  given  of  Oriental  passages  in  a 
context  which  gives  them  a  certain  strangeness  or  at  least  a  cer- 
tain relief.  Such  are  the  references  to  the  Eastern  life,  even  if 
generally  rather  prosaic,  in  Crabbe's  realistic,  novelistic  tales;  the 
numerous  citation  of  Oriental  standards  for  the  sake  of  comparing 
English  values  in  Wordsworth's  Prelude;  and  the  "parable"  of 
Eastern  type  introduced  into  Lamb's  Wife's  Trial  to  help  unravel 
complexities  at  the  end  of  the  stoi y. 

The  Oriental  passage  sometimes  sor\cs  to  point  a  moral,  some- 


J^8  Vnirersiti/  of  Kansas  FFumanistic  Studies 

times  to  give  a  bit  «)f  strange,  foreign  (quality  to  commonplace 
characters  or  situation.  It  often  appears  in  the  form  of  simile  or 
metaphor.  As  to  theme,  it  varies  from  a  general  conception  of  the 
Orient,  or  of  some  large  .section  of  it,  to  very  specific  subjects. 
The  Oriental  theme  in  general  is  discussed  in  the  two  following 
(hapters.  Among  the  common  subjects  of  concrete  nature  are 
tlie  car  of  Juggernaut,  the  caravan,  the  camel,  the  elephant,  the 
rich  natural  products  of  the  Orient,  the  hidden  sources  of  the  Nile, 
the  ruins  of  Babylon,  Palmyra,  or  other  cities,  the  return  of  a 
traveller  from  the  East,  the  tyranny  of  the  Turk,  the  cold  of 
Sil)oria,  the  gyi)sies  in  England,  memories  of  Arabian  Nights,  etc. 
We  have  previously  noted  the  general  geographical  passage. 
There  are,  however,  several  types  of  passage  which  may  be  given 
a  further  word  here.  One  of  these  presents  the  flower  theme; 
another  the  jewel  theme. 

A  botanical  passage  in  English  verse  is  not  necessarily  Oriental, 
but  in  many  cases  it  is  partly  Orientalized.  We  find  examples  in 
Collins'  third  Eclogue,  in  Mason's  English  Garden,  in  John  Scott's 
Epistles,  and  elsewhere.  Probably  for  Oriental  if  not  for  poetic 
quality  no  passage  could  surpass  this  from  Jones'  Enchanted 
Fruit: 

"Light-pinioned  gales,  to  charm  the  sense. 
Their  odorif'rous  breath  dispense; 
From  belas  pearl'd,  or  pointed,  bloom. 
And  malty  rich,  they  steal  perfume: 
There  honey-scented  singarhar. 
And  juhy,  like  a  rising  star. 
Strong  chempa,  darted  by  camdew, 
And  mulsery  of  paler  hue, 
Cayora,  which  the  ranies  wear 
In  tangles  of  their  .silken  hair. 
Round  babul-flow'rs  and  gulachein 
Dyed  like  the  shell  of  beauty's  queen. 
Sweet  mindy  press'd  for  crimson  stains. 
And  sacred  tulsy  pride  of  plains, 
With  sewty,  small  unblushing  rose, 
Their  odours  mix,  their  tints  di.sclose. " 

The  flower  passage  may  be  Orientalized;  the  jewel  passage  in 
our  period  is  naturally  Oriental  in  general,  for  obvious  reasons. 
The  jewels  themselves  and  in  many  cases  their  names,  came  from 
the  East.  In  the  Bible  there  are  three  distinct  passages  of  this 
type;  in  Exodus  XXVIII,  17-20,  Ezekiel  XXVIII,  13,  and  Reve- 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  4$ 

lations  XXI,  19-20.  All  three  passages,  though  written  at  long 
intervals,  include,  besides  gold,  the  beryl,  emerald,  jasper,  sapphire, 
sardius  and  topaz.  In  two  passages  we  find  amethyst,  carbuncle, 
diamond,  onyx,  and  sardonyx;  while  the  following  are  found  in 
only  one  passage:  agate,  chalcedony,  chrysoprasus,  chrysolyte, 
jacinth,  and  pearls.  The  jewel  passage  in  Thomson's  Summer — 
introduced  as  evidence  of  the  beneficent  power  of  the  sun, 
"Parent  of  Seasons" — names  only  the  amethyst,  diamond, 
emerald,  opal,  ruby,  sapphire,  and  topaz,  but  with  the  descriptions 
given  occupies  twenty  lines.  Later  passages  of  this  type  are  found 
in  Hoole's  translations  of  Ariosto  and  Tasso,  in  Brooke,  Crabbe, 
Harte,  Procter,  Shenstone,  and  other  jjoets.  Harte's  passage^^  is 
interesting  in  this  point;  for  all  the  jewels — a  standard  list — except 
the  turquoise  he  gives  a  Biblical  reference;  for  the  jewel  named  a 
reference  to  an  authority  stating  that  "The  true  oriental  tur- 
quoise comes  out  of  the  old  rock  in  the  mountains  of  Piriskua, 
about  eighty  miles  from  the  town  of  Moscheda: " 

The  Oriental  poem,  as  we  have  seen,  may  occasionally  be  written 
in  Greek  or  Latin;  but  such  poems  are  rare.  In  length  it  varies 
from  a  few  lines  to  epic  proportions.  Montgomery's  Parrot  con- 
tains only  thirty-three  words;  his  Pelican  and  Ostrich  being  slightly 
longer.  Jones'  To  Lady  Jones  contains  less  than  one  hundred 
words.  There  may  perhaps  be  some  epigrams  or  epitaphs  of 
couplet  length  that  could  be  called  Oriental,  but  they  do  not  seem 
at  all  frequent;  nor  do  we  find  the  quatrain,  later  made  so  famous 
by  Fitzgerald,  popular  in  our  period. 

Some  poems  with  Oriental  title  and  setting  prove  to  contain  a 
very  slight  element  of  Oriental  diction  or  real  Oriental  color.  The 
only  word  which  could  in  any  sense  be  called  Oriental  in  Jones' 
Chinese  Ode  Paraphrased  is  "ivory".  In  the  same  poet's  Song 
from  the  Persian,  "lily",  "cypress",  and  "rose"  must  serve  for 
Eastern  terms.  There  is  doubtless  conveyed  to  most  readers, 
something  of  a  vaguely  "Indian"  atmosphere  by  Shelley's  Sere- 
nade. Yet  it  contains  but  a  single  word  of  genuine  Oriental 
quality.  That  word,  though  found  in  other  Elnglish  poems,  is 
habitually  associated  by  many  readers,  one  may  imagine,  with 
this  particular  poem.  In  Kuhla  Khan,  the  per  cent  of  Oriental 
words  is  two  or  three;  in  Mangan's  Karamanian  Exile,  on  account 


.32.     lr>  Thomas  a  Kempis:  A  Vi>;ion\  beginning  "The  Gold  of  Ophir." 


so  r Hirer, s-itij  of  A'(i/^">•<^v  1/ mnanistic  Studies 

of  tlu'  ropolitii)n  of  Uie  word  "Kaiamaii",  the  proportion  rises  to 
some  fifteen  or  sixteen  per  cent.  For  much  higher  proportions  than 
this  we  must  \io,  not  to  the  poem,  I)ut  to  the  phrase  or  line;  at 
nu)st  to  tlie  brief  |)assage. 

The  Orientalism  of  our  })erio(l  is  not  to  any  remarkable  degree 
expressed  by  novel  or  characteristic  verse  forms.  A  large  number 
of  the  Eastern  poems  are  written  in  a  versification  which  served 
English  poets  of  various  tastes — in  heroic  couplets,  octosyllabics, 
blank  verse,  Spenserian  stanza,  ottava  rima,  and  varied  lyric 
stanzas,  mostly  of  simple  type.  As  to  rhythm,  there  is  some  use 
of  humorous  anapestics,  some  of  more  serious  triple  movement, 
as  in  Byron's  Destruction  of  Sennacherib.  There  seems  little  or 
nothing  so  characteristic  of  this  taste  as  the  short  lines  with  rugged 
rhythm  and  alliterative  tendency  were  characteristic  of  the 
Gothic  taste. 

That  is  not  the  whole  story  of  Orientalized  verse,  however. 
Jones  gives  us  at  least  one  ghazel,  in  transliteration,  not  transla- 
tion; and  one  at  least  is  written  by  Mangan.  Another  is  found  in 
Moore's  Twopenny  Post  Bag,  Letter  VI.^^  Jones  writes  under  the 
titles  of  several  of  his  poems  'in  the  measure  of  the  original',  and 
in  a  few  cases  rewrites  in  more  regular  English  verse  to  bring 
out  the  difference.  To  one  unacquainted  with  Eastern  prosody, 
there  is  nothing  very  distinctive  of  the  Orient  in  such  lines  as 

"With  cheeks  where  eternal  paradise  bloomed. 
Sweet  Laili  the  soul  of  Kais  had  consumed. " 

There  is  something  strange,  for  the  period,  however,  in  the  ver- 
sification of  the  Ode  of  J  ami: 

"How  sweet  the  gale  of  morning  breathes!         Sweet 
news  of  my  delight  he  brings: 
News,  that  the  rose  will  soon  approach         the  tuneful 
bird  of  night  he  brings." 

There  is  perhaps  fully  as  much  interest  in  the  rendition  of  A 
Turkish  Ode  of  Mcsihi  into  paragraphs  of  poetic  prose.  Jones,  who 
was  a  translator  of  Pindar,  writes  the  Hymn  to  Durga  in  the  form 
of  a  regular  Pindaric  ode;  and  it  seems  likely  that  the  extensive 
use  of  this  form  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  had  its  effect  on  the 


33.     This  form  Is  found  among  the  burlesque  poems  of  Thackeray. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  51 

Oriental  verse  of  other  poets,  including,  perhaps,  Southey.  All 
of  the  poets  after  the  Lyrical  Ballads,  with  few  exceptions,  were 
interested  in  experiments  in  English  verse,  and  Southey  carried 
into  the  composition  of  The  Curse  of  Kehama  and  Thalaba  a 
definite  purpose  to  embody  his  Orientalism  in  appropriate  versi- 
fication. To  say  the  least,  Oriental  verse  from  Jones  to  Mangan 
showed  the  general  tendency  to  substitute  anything  and  every- 
thing for  the  conventional  heroic  couplet.  As  a  detail,  the  fre- 
quency of  the  refrain,  from  Collins'  Eclogues  to  Lalla  Rookh  may 
be  mentioned. 

While  Orientalism,  so  far  as  noted,  produced  no  sonnet  sequences, 
it  has  given  a  number  of  typical  and  worthy  poems  in  sonnet  form. 
One  may  recall  again  that  the  Sardanapalus  of  Surrey  is  both  a 
sonnet  and  an  Oriental  poem.  We  could  not  afford  to  lose  from 
our  poetry  the  Crocodile  of  Beddoes,  the  Ozymandias  of  Shelley, 
or  the  sonnets  of  Keats  and  Shelley  on  the  Nile.  Simply  as  poems, 
these,  with  Kuhla  Khan,  are  among  the  best  products  of  Oriental 
taste  during  our  period. 

The  titles  of  some  of  our  poems  are  flat  or  without  specific 
Oriental  quality.  On  the  other  hand,  one  has  only  to  remember 
Lalla  Rookh,  The  Curse  of  Kehama,  Kuhla  Khan,  Asia,  as  well  as 
among  poems  of  minor  fame.  Juggernaut,  Palmyra,  The  Caravan 
in  the  Desert,  and  a  host  of  others.  The  Wail  of  the  Three  Khalen- 
deers  seems  as  good  as  Mandaluy.  If  one  wishes  something  in 
lighter  vein,  he  may  choose  The  King  of  the  Crocodiles,  from 
Southey;  or  Vm  Going  to  Bombay,  and  The  Kangaroos:  A  Fable, 
from  Hood. 

The  miscellaneous  character  of  the  verse  forms  of  Oriental 
poetry  is  suggestive  of  the  variety  in  the  poetic  types  themselves. 
The  list  of  these  types  is  long;  the  roll  of  forms  distinctly  Oriental, 
much  shorter.  We  find  poetic  types  ranging  from  the  dirge  to  the 
epic,  and  including  the  love  lyric,  vers  de  societe,  epithalamium, 
fable,  eclogue,  ode,  ballad,  fictitious  epistle,  allegory,  battle  song, 
hymn,  tale,  parody,  inscription,  serenade,  drama,  and  other  forms. 
The  proverb,  so  familiar  in  Old  Testament  literature,  seems  rare, 
even  in  passages;  but  Southey  opens  his  Sonnet  XI  with 

'Beware  a  speedy  friend!'  the  Arabian  said." 

Among  the  poetic  types  which  seem  characteristic  of  the  Orient, 
or  at  least  of  the  Oriental  taste  in  England,  are  the  fable,  the  tale. 


[y2  Vnivcrsitif  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 

tlu'  drama,  and  tlio  eclogue.  The  tale  has  been  considered  at 
Icufitli,  for  the  earlier  part  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  by  Miss 
(.'onant.  A  word  may  be  given  here  to  the  drama,  the  eclogue, 
and  the  translation.  The  "ballad"  and  the  "ode"  are  often 
falsely  so  named  in  the  poetry  of  the  earlier  part  of  our  period. 

A  complete  acc-ount  of  the  Oriental  drama  from  1740  to  1840 
would  rc(|uirc  a  separate  paper.  The  type  is  as  old  as  the  Eliza- 
bethan era,  and  there  are  signs  of  it  in  the  medieval  epoch.  Ori- 
ental plays  of  the  same  general  character  as  those  of  the  Restora- 
tion period  contimied  to  be  produced  in  England  until  the  Romantic 
Movement  was  triumphant.  Hughes'  Siege  of  Damascus  appeared 
in  17'20,  Aaron  Hill's  Zara  in  1736.  The  influence  of  Voltaire's 
Orientalism  is  to  be  traced  in  Zara  and  in  later  plays.  Among  the 
plays  of  our  own  period,  we  may  name  Miss  Baillie's  Bride  and 
Constantine  Paleologus;  Miller's  Mahomet  the  Imposter;  Irene; 
Hellas;  and  Sardanapalus.  It  is  interesting  to  note  some  Oriental 
elements  in  two  "oratorios"  of  the  period,  both  Biblical  in  subject 
and  general  treatment — Brooke's  Ruth,  and  Jago's  Adam.  Many 
plays  not  entirely  Eastern  include  some  Oriental  elements.  Miss 
Baillie's  Martyr  has  as  a  prominent  character,  Orceres,  a  Parthian; 
Brown's  Barbarossa  is  Algerian  in  setting;  Coleman's  Mountaineers 
is  Moorish  in  part.  Wells'  Joseph  and  His  Brethren  was  noted  a 
few  pages  above.  For  prologues,  we  may  name  Wells'  again,  and 
add  Goldsmith's  Prologue  to  Zobeide.  This  couplet  from  Young's 
Epistle  to  Lord  Lansdowne  is  of  interest: 

"  Then  with  a  sigh  returns  our  audience  home 
From  Venice,  Egj^pt,  Persia,  Greece,  or  Rome." 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  Constantine  Paleologus.  The  settings 
include  Mahomet's  camp  near  Constantinople;  the  interior  of  St. 
Sophia;  a  view  of  the  city  in  the  background,  "seen  in  the  dimness 
of  cloudy  moonlight";  and  this — which  perhaps  has  a  slight  sug- 
gestion of  Vathek:  "a  large  sombre  room,  with  mystical  figures 
and  strange  characters  painteduponthe  walls,  and  lighted  only  by 
one  lamp,  burning  upon  a  table  near  the  front  of  the  stage".  At 
the  opening  of  Act  III,  Mahomet  is  discovered  "sitting  alone  in 
the  eastern  manner  ".  At  the  opening  of  Act  I,  Scene  2,  of  Beddoes' 
Death's  Jest-Book  we  read  this  stage  direction:  "The  African 
Coast:  a  woody  solitude  near  the  sea.  In  the  back  ground  ruins 
overshadowed  by  tlie  characteristic  vegetation  of  the  Oriental 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  53 

regions".  The  chief  Oriental  element  in  Dodsley's  brief  Rex  et 
Pontifex  is  in  the  stage  directions.  Among  those  who  attempted 
Oriental  opera  were  Dodsley,  Lewis,  and  Miss  Mitford. 

In  the  Eighteenth  Century  the  writing  of  eclogues  was  a  habit 
of  English  poets.  One  finds  'Amoebsean  Eclogues',  'Moral  Eclo- 
gues', 'Sacred  Eclogues',  'Town  Eclogues',  and  even  'English 
Eclogues'.  It  is  not  strange  that  we  should  also  find  eclogues 
African,  Arabian,  Chinese,  East  Indian,  Persian;  and  a  group 
devoted  to  life  at  Botany  Bay.  Some  of  these  have  considerable 
Oriental  color;  others  have  comparatively  little.  The  shepherd 
life  is  no  doubt  correctly  associated  with  certain  parts  of  the 
Orient,  but  one  often  feels  that  the  pastoralism  of  these  pieces  is 
pseudo-Latin  rather  than  vitally  Eastern.  Collins'  mature  view  of 
his  success  in  his  pastoral  venture  was  not  favorable.  The  life  of  the 
caravan  and  the  harem  seems  more  distinctly  Oriental  than  the 
keeping  of  the  flocks — as  the  conventional  poetic  shepherd  kept 
them — or  making  love  to  a  pastoral  mistress. 

Real  translation  of  Oriental  poems  is  found  in  Mrs.  Montagu — 
with  the  aid  of  other  wits — and  in  Jones.  Pseudo-translation  and 
paraphrase  seem  far  more  characteristic  of  the  English  Orientalism 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  It  is  the  period  of  Chatterton,  Ireland, 
and  Macpherson.  Why  should  not  Collins  tell  his  readers  that  his 
Eclogues  were  written  by  'Abdallah,  a  native  of  Tauris'?  He 
closes  the  preface  of  the  first  edition  with  the  reflection,  "the 

works   of   orientals   contain    many    peculiarities,    and 

through  defect  of  language,  few  European  translators  can  do 
them  justice".  Mangan,  at  the  end  of  our  period,  announces  that 
his  Hundred-Leafed  Rose  is  "By  Mohammed  ben  Ali  Nakkash, 
called  Lamii,  or.  The  Dazzling".  Pseudo-translations  appear 
from  the  Arabic,  Chinese,  Persian,  and  Turkish.  None  from  the 
Japanese  have  been  noted.  The  real  translations  of  the  period,  in 
the  main,  were  from  the  old  familiar  sources — Greek,  Latin, 
Italian,  French;  and  from  the  newly-discovered  Germanic  or 
Celtic  literatures.  For  the  reception  of  one  real  translation,  see 
above,  page  41.  Among  other  translators  of  note  were  Sir  John 
Bowring,  Joshua  Marshman,  and  Sir  Charles  Wilkins. 

The  tendency  in  translation  and  in  paraphrase  seems  to  be  to 
expand,  as  was  the  case  in  earlier  periods — in  the  rendering  of  the 
Psalms,  for  example.  Jones'  paraphrase  of  the  Chinese  Ode  in 
twenty-four  lines  is  followed  by  a  "verbal  translation"  in  only 


54  I'tiircrsit!/  of  Katisns  Ilunianistic  Studies 

iiiiir  liiu-s.    His  transliition  of  A  Persian  Song  of  Hofiz  is  written  in 
tifty-foiir  liiu-s;  tlu-  traiislil«Tati«)n  occupies  thirty-six. 

riic  soltinj;  t»f  tlio  Oriciilal  i)(»cin  is  as  various  as  its  form  or 
tlicnir.  ll  may  appear  in  a  real  letter  (Mrs.  Montagu),  in  an  essay 
(..lonesl.  in  pn)se  fiction  (Mrs.  UadclifVe  and  Walter  Scott),  or  in  a 
prose  frame  (/.<(//(/  Ixoohh).  As  a  lyric  it  appears  in  the  long  narra- 
tive p.uMn.  (  hililc  Harold,  for  example;  or  in  the  drama,  The  Bride, 
for  example.  It  can  be  found  as  a  member  of  a  group  of  Oriental 
poems,  as  in  the  EcUxjucs  of  Collins  and  John  Scott;  or  in  non- 
Oriental  groups,  as  in  Mrs.  Ilemans'  Lays  of  Many  Lands  and 
Soiujs  of  Spain,  Keble's  Christian  Veor  and  Moore's  Xaiional  Airs. 
Tlie  Oriental  poems  under  the  last  title,  as  well  as  poems  by  Burns 
and  Hyron.  are  among  those  written,  in  imagination  at  least,  for 
Eastern  tunes. 

The  number  of  Oriental  poems  written  in  England  from  the 
death  of  Pope  to  the  opening  of  the  Victorian  era  will  depend 
on  the  definition  of  the  vital  adjective.  In  the  Appendix'"^*  we 
have  listed  about  370  poems.  Many  of  these  would  doubtless  be 
rejected  by  a  more  exact  critical  method.  Many  others  would  be 
added  In'  a  more  sweeping  examination  of  the  verse  of  the  period. 
The  number  as  well  as  the  variety  of  the  poems,  in  any  case,  is 
sufficient  to  indicate  a  wide-spread  vogue,  however  artificial  in 
part;  a  vogue  much  more  extensive  in  this  period  than  before,  and 
destined  to  live  and  develop,  in  some  respects  with  more  satisfac- 
tory poetic  results,  in  the  Victorian  era,  and  in  the  Twentieth 
Century. 

No  English  poet  of  any  note  has  devoted  himself  entirely  to  the 
Orient.  Our  review  has  made  it  clear  that  in  many  poets  Oriental- 
ism is  simply  one  poetic  experiment  among  several.  The  Oriental 
poet  is  usually  an  eclectic  poet.  Even  Jones,  leader  in  the  move- 
ment, is  a  Grecian  and  a  Latinist.  In  such  poets  as  Chatterton, 
Moore,  Montgomery,  Southey,  and  Mrs.  Hemans,  the  Eastern 
element  is  accompanied  by  elements  offering  the  greatest  contrast. 
In  spite  of  Lalla  Rookh  and  Byron's  Turkish  tales,  there  seems  to 
be  in  our  period  no  poet,  with  the  excej)tion  of  Jones,  whose  name 
is  so  intimately  associated  with  Oiientalized  poetry  as  are  the 
names  of  Fitzgerald,  Edwin  Arnold,  and  Kipling. 

The  experiments  of  the  early  Romantic  Movement,  and  of  its 


34.     See  the  pages  under  I,  A, 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  55 

era  of  triumph,  were  subject  to  that  attack  of  the  parodist  which 
awaits  most  conspicuous  novelties.  The  Rebuilding,  imitating  the 
diction  and  prosody  of  The  Curse  of  Kehama,  is  one  of  the  best 
poems  in  Rejected  Addresses.  Among  favorites  for  the  parodist 
were  Kubla  Khan  and  that  oldtime  delight  of  youthful  elocution- 
ists, (Jasabianca.  For  further  results  of  this  aftermath  of  the 
Oriental  taste,  one  may  examine  the  pages  edited  by  Jerrold 
and  Leonard,  Hamilton,  and  Henry  Morley. 


CHAPTER  V 

The  East  and  the  West 

III  lliis  chapter  we  shall  consider  some  of  the  common  themes  of 
Englisli  Oriental  verse  which  are  concerned  with  the  relations  of 
the  East  to  Eni^land  or  other  western  lands.  The  subjects  are  so 
numerous  that  only  some  of  the  more  prominent  or  the  more 
significant,  for  one  reason  or  another,  can  be  mentioned. 

Our  poetry  records  manj'  objects  which  came  into  England 
from  tiie  East  as  a  matter  of  course,  not  under  stimulus  of  any 
special  Oriental  taste.  The  catalogue  of  these  would  be  a  long  one, 
and  doubtless  a  dry  one,  of  commercial  and  prosaic  value  rather 
than  poetic.  Here  belong  the  drugs  and  spices,  including  coffee, 
various  kinds  of  tea,  cinnamon,  nutmegs;  articles  of  dress;  house- 
hold i^ets  such  as  the  canary  bird — if  we  credit  that  to  the  Orient — 
and  tiie  parrot;  the  animals  of  the  menagerie;  jewels;  gold  acquired 
in  Eastern  residence,  and  even  stocks  in  Eastern  commercial 
ventures;  and  the  mummy  of  public  or  private  collection.  This 
couplet  in  Young  is  a  fair  sample  of  much  of  the  verse  which 
presents  this  material: 

"  Cold  Russia  costly  furs  from  far. 
Hot  China  sends  her  painted  jar.'"" 

"Chunee",  London  elephant  of  the  early  Nineteenth  Century,  is 
immortalized  in  Rejected  Addresses^^  and  in  Hood's  Address  to  Mr. 
Cross,  of  Exeter  Change.  Hood's  Ode  to  theCaineleopard  is  oneof 
the  best  humorous  Oriental  poems  of  the  period.  Cawtho^Z?,  -^ 
The  Antiquarians,  pictures  a  dispute  over  a  coin,  in  which  on 
enthusiast  gives  his  view  thus : 

'  It  came, '  says  lie,  'or  I  will  be  whipt. 
From  Memphis  in  the  Lower  Egypt'." 


35.  Imperium  Pelaoi:  Strain  I. 

36.  See  Playhouse  Musings. 


56 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  57 

Young  writes  of  an  imaginary  zealous  book-collector: 

"So  high  the  generous  ardor  of  the  man 
For  Romans,  Greeks,  and  Orientals  ran.  "^^ 

Cowper  has  occasion  to  note  that  linen  is  imported  from  India; 
and  from  the  same  country  comes  the  cane  for  his  sofa. 

A  passage  of  higher  imaginative  quality  than  those  just  given  is 
found  in  Pollok's  sombre  Course  of  Time.  In  Book  VII,  his 
vision  of  the  wonders  of  the  resurrection  day  includes  this  some- 
what startling  conception : 

"The  Memphian  mummy,  that  from  age  to  age, 
Descending,  bought  and  sold  a  thousand  times. 
In  hall  of  curious  antiquary  stowed, 
Wrapped  in  mysterious  weeds,  the  wondrous  theme 
Of  many  an  erring  tale,  shook  off  its  rags; 
And  the  brown  son  of  Egypt  stood  beside 
The  European,  his  last  purchaser." 

Some  of  the  trees  of  England  and  some  of  the  flowers  are  either 
of  Oriental  origin  or  have  Eastern  associations  recognized  by  the 
poets.  The  laurel  is  a  "daughter  of  the  East";  Langhorne  in  the 
Fables  of  Flora  tells  the  reader  of  the  Bactrian  origin  of  the  crown 
imperial. 

There  is  not  much  evidence  in  the  verse  of  our  period  of  the 
presence  of  real  Oriental  persons  of  public  note  in  England.  Fol- 
lowing the  method  used  in  such  prose  as  The  Citizen  of  the  World, 
this  or  that  poet  introduces  a  fictitious  gentleman  from  the  East 
reporting  his  observations  to  the  home-land.  Probably  Moore's 
fictitious  letter  From  Abdullah,  in  London,  to  Mohassan,  in  Ispa- 
han^^  is  one  of  the  best  pieces  of  this  type.  Among  the  more 
obscure  real  figures  are  the  negro  boxer  in  Moore,  and  the  rope- 
dancer  "Mahomet",  "said  to  be  a  Turk",  in  Samuel  Johnson. 
Southey  addresses  an  ode  to  a  visiting  dignitary  from  Russia,  and 
if  we  include  the  Pelew  Islands  in  the  Orient,  Bowles'  poem  Abba 
ThuWs  Lament  for  His  Son  Prince  Le  Boo  may  be  mentioned.  We 
are  told  that  the  Cashmerian  heroine  and  the  hero  of  Shelley's 
unpublished  Zeinah  and  Kathema  arrive  in  London  during  the 
story.  Moore  has  a  poem  on  a  "beautiful  East-Indian",  and 
Ijovibond  writes  a  series  of  love-lyrics,  of  little  poetic  merit,  to 


37.  Love  of  Fame:   Satire  II. 

38.  In  The  Twopenny  Post  Bag:  Letter  VI. 


^  Vnircrsitii  of  Kunsti.'i  Jluvuiiiiitiic  Studicii 

"an  Asiatii-  I;ui\  "  in  Kii>;laiul — a  laily  who  causes  some  distur- 
baiK-t'  in  tho  miiul  of  an  Knglisli  woman  friend  of  the  poet. 

The  fcvpsy  in  Ivnjihind  is  a  theme  in  poetry  l>oth  romantic  and 
reilistic.  appearing,'  in  "Christopher  North",  C'rahbe,  Words- 
worth. The  lii/psif.'i  Mali.^on  of  Lamb,  The  Gijpsijtf  Dinje  of  Walter 
Scott,  and  in  many  other  ])oets  and  poems.  Sometimes  a  pictur- 
cs(|ne  tij^nrc  about  tlic  camp-fire  at  night,  at  other  times  the  gypsy 
is  a  sly  and  tattered  trickster  among  the  young  peoi)le  of  an  Eng- 
lish village,  or  a  vagrant  brought  before  the  local  representative 
of  English  law. 

There  are  many  examples  of  the  theme,  "the  Englishman  home 
fn>m  the  Orient".  Various  are  the  gifts  they  bring  back  from  the 
East.  One  returns  with  ill  health,  one  with  memories  of  cap- 
tivity, many,  of  course,  in  poems  of  the  middle  ages,  with  the 
battle  scars  of  the  Crusades.  A  character  in  Praed's  Arrivals  at  a 
Watering-Place  is  "always  talking  of  Bengal".  Crabbe's  realistic 
picture  of  provincial  English  society  presents  several  gentlemen 
returned  from  the  Orient.  One  was  a  Captain  who  "rich  from 
India  came",  bringmg  pearls,  diamonds,  costly  silks  and  other 
trciisures,  which  his  will  left  to  a  feminine  relative  who  loved  to 
hear  them  {)raised.^^  In  another  passage  in  Crabbe'"'  appears  a 
"sick  tall  figure"  of  a  man  who  has  returned  from  India  with 
wealth  gained  and  health  and  spirits  destroyed;  who  mo\'es  rest- 
lessly from  place  to  place  in  his  native  land  without  gaining  happi- 
ness. It  will  be  remembered  that  in  The  Fatal  Curiosity  it  is  the 
hoard  of  gold  and  jewels  Young  Wilmot  brings  from  the  East 
which  is  the  immediate  cause  of  the  tragedy. 

The  Oriental  taste  in  England  is  shown  in  many  ways  in  the 
verse  of  the  period.  Horses  or  other  domestic  pets  are  named 
"Sultan"  or  "Sultana";  decorations  in  the  drawing-room  and 
fanciful  structures  in  garden  or  park  are  built  in  Oriental  manner. 
In  Threnodia  Amjustalis,  Coldsmith  described  a  place  on  the 
Thames  where  novelty 

"From  China  borrows  aid  to  deck  the  scene." 

There  are  various  other  references  to  similar  matters;  the  fence 
irregular  as  the  metrical  form  of  the  Pindaric  ode,  the  summerhouse 
— kiosk, pagoda,  f)r  of  fashion '  Gothic  or  Chinese '.  In  one  of  the  balls 


30.      Thf  Parish  Reciistcr:  Burials. 
40.      Thf  Borough;  Letter  IX. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  59 

Praed  describes,  several  characters  are  dressed  in  Oriental  costume, 
and  in  Peacock's  prose  farce.  The  Dilettanti,  at  the  opening  of 
Act  I,  Scene  4,  "Miss  Comfit,  as  a  Sultana,  advances  to  the  front 
of  the  stage",  and  Tactic  enters  "as  a  Turk".  In  humorous 
spirit  Moore  'Turkifies'  current  politics  or  politicians  in  England; 
or  pictures  Grimaldi  grimacing  before  the  Mandarins  in  China/* 

In  deeper  manner,  the  Oriental  taste  is  revealed  with  reference 
to  the  literature  of  the  East,  and  the  English  literature  modeled 
thereon.  Orientalism  throughout  our  period  was  not  an  accident 
or  an  unconscious  result.  Much  comment  is  made  upon  the  cult 
in  prose  criticism — from  which  a  few  notes  may  be  taken — and  in 
the  verse  itself. 

We  are  told  that  Collins  wrote  his  Eclogues  when  seventeen 
years  old,  after  reading  the  description  of  Persia  in  Salmon's 
Modern  History.  In  later  years  he  spoke  disdainfully  of  the 
pieces,  called  them  his  "Irish  Eclogues",  and  affirmed  that  "they 
had  not  in  them  one  spark  of  orientalism  ".^^  An  early  critic, 
however,  Dr.  Langhorne,  speaks  as  follows  of  the  second  eclogue: 
"All  the  advantages  that  any  species  of  poetry  can  derive  from  the 
novelty  of  the  subject  and  scenery,  this  eclogue  possesses.  The 
route  of  a  camel-driver  is  a  scene  that  scarce  could  exist  in  the 
imagination  of  an  European,  and  of  its  attendant  distress  he  could 
have  no  idea.  "^^  Nearly  a  century  later  Mangan  wrote  pseudo- 
Oriental  translations  because  "Hafiz  was  more  acceptable  to 
editors  than  Mangan".^*  Between  Collins  and  Mangan  there  is 
sufficient  and  varied  evidence  of  the  English  taste  for  Orientalized 
verse.  John  Scott,  himself  an  Oriental  poet,  gives  this  view  in  his 
poem  On  the  Ingenious  Mr.  Jones's  Elegant  Translations: 

"The  Asian  Muse,  a  stranger  fair! 
Becomes  at  length  Britannia's  care; 
And  Hafiz'  lays,  and  Sadi's  strains. 
Resound  along  our  Thames's  plains. 
They  sing  not  all  of  streams  and  bowers. 
Or  banquet  scenes,  or  social  hours; 
Nor  all  of  Beauty's  blooming  charms, 
Or  War's  rude  fields,  or  feats  of  arms ; 
But  Freedom's  lofty  notes  sincere. 


41.  See   The   Twopenny  Post  Bag,  Letter  II,  and   The  Fudge  Familn  in   Paris. 
Letter  IX. 

42.  Page  10  of  the  edition  of  Collins  cited  in  the  Appendix. 

43.  Ibid.,  p.   1.31. 

44.  Miles,  vol.  III.  p.  456. 


(^)  I'lnrcr.fitif  of  Kun.sa.s  lliinianistic  Studies 

Ami  \'irtuo*s  moral  lore  severe, 
Hut  ah!  they  siiijj;  for  us  no  more! 
The  searcely-tasted  i)leasure's  o'er! 
For  he.  the  l)arcl  whose  tuneful  art 
Can  best  their  vary'd  themes  impart — 
For  he,  alas!  the  task  declines; 
And  Taste,  at  loss  irreparable,  repines. 

CMiunhill,  not  so  uukIi  moved  by  Gothicism,  sentimentalism, 
or  Orientalism,  as  many  of  his  contemporaries,  does  not  give  so 
favorable  an  account  in  the  opening  lines  of  The  Farewell: 

"Farewell  to  Europe,  and  at  once  farew^ell 
To  all  the  follies  which  in  Europe  dwell; 
To  Eastern  India  now,  a  richer  clime, 
Richer,  alas!  in  everything  but  rhyme. 
The  Muses  steer  their  course;  and,  fond  of  change, 
At  large,  in  other  worlds,  desire  to  range; 
Resolved,  at  least,  since  they  the  fool  must  play, 
To  do  it  in  a  different  place,  and  way." 

Englishmen  did  not  need  to  wait  till  Tennyson's  day  to  read 
verses  on  Recollections  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  The  passage  on  this 
subject  in  Wordsworth's  Prelude  is  familiar.  In  Silford  Hall 
Crabbe  tells  his  readers  that  before  Sir  Walter  wrote  there  were 

" .  .  .  .  fictions  wild  that  please  the  boy. 
Which  men,  too,  read,  condemn,  reject,  enjoy. " 

Of  th«  library  he  is  describing  in  the  same  poem,  he  says : 

"Arabian  Nights,  and  Persian  Tales  w^ere  there. 
One  volume  each,  and  both  the  w^orse  for  wear. " 

He  returns  to  this  theme  in  Master  William: 

"Arabian  Nights,  and  Persian  Tales,  he  read. 
And  his  pure  mind  whh  brilliant  wonders  fed. 
The  long  romances,  wild  Adventures  fired 
His  stirring  thoughts:  he  felt  like  Boy  inspired. 
The  cruel  fight,  the  constant  love,  the  art 
Of  vile  magicians,  thrilled  his  inmost  heart. " 

Southey  apparently  has  the  English  Oriental  verse  in  mind 
when  he  writes  in  The  Retrospect,  in  a  spirit  of  reaction,  perhaps — 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  61 

"Oh,  while  well  pleased  the  lettered  traveller  roams 
Among  old  temples,  palaces,  and  domes; 
Strays  with  the  Arab  o'er  the  wreck  of  time, 
Where  erst  Palmyra's  towers  arose  sublime; 
Or  marks  the  lazy  Turk's  lethargic  pride. 
And  Grecian  slavery  on  Ilyssus'  side, — 
Oh,  be  it  mine,  aloof  from  public  strife. 
To  mark  the  changes  of  domestic  life. 
The  altered  scenes  where  once  I  bore  a  part. 
Where  every  change  of  fortune  strikes  the  heart  I" 

It  is  curious  to  note  how  many  times  Wordsworth  in  The  Prelude 
uses  an  Oriental  standard  to  estimate  the  value  of  native  English 
delights.  Thus  he  says,  that  there  was  a  time  in  his  youth  when 
all  the  glories  of  Eastern  history  or  fiction  "fell  short,  far  short. 

Of  what  my  fond  simplicity  believed 
And  thought  of  London. " 

In  his  boyhood,  the  dramatic  performances  in  the  country  barn 
pleased  him  more  than  Genii  in  a  "dazzling  cavern  of  romance". 
The  natural  surroundings  of  his  early  days  were  "more  exquisitely 
fair"  than  the  magnificent  gardens — which  he  describes  in  true, 
luxuriant  Oriental  style — shaped  for  the  delight  of  the  Tartarian 
dynasty.  At  Rydal  Mount  he  records  that  the  English  mountain 
spring  furnished  water  which  might  have  been  envied  by  Persian 
kings.  It  almost  seems  that  Wordsworth,  having  determined  to 
devote  his  imagination  to  simple  and  native  life,  fought  against 
the  Oriental  taste  of  the  day,  thereby  revealing  its  power  perhaps. 


When  we  turn  to  the  Oriental  element  in  western  life  outside  of 
England,  we  find  probably  a  less  varied  account  than  that  we  have 
just  surveyed;  but  one  rich  in  interest.  Cooper's  Ver-Vert  is  an 
amusing  record  of  an  East  Indian  parrot  among  the  nuns  of 
France.  In  Grainger's  Sugar-Cane  and  a  score  of  other  poems  the 
character  and  life  of  the  negro  in  the  West  Indies  or  in  the  United 
States  are  pictured.  We  have  referred  before  to  the  l*arthian 
Prince  who  moves  amid  Roman  scenes,  in  the  days  of  Nero,  in  Miss 
Baillie's  The  Martyr.  There  is  a  brief  and  quite  different  allusion 
to  Eastern  visitors  in  Italy  in  Rogers'  account  of  life  at  Venice. 
"Who  flocked  not  thither",  the  poet  asks, — 


62  rnircrsitji  of  Kunsd.'i  Ifiininni^ffic  Studies 

**To  colehrato  Iut  Nuptials  with  the  Sea? 
To  wear  Uu»  mask,  and  mingle  in  the  crowd 
NNItli  (Jreek,  Armenian,  Persian.  "^^ 

A  volume  eould  douhtless  he  written  on  the  English  poetic 
treatment  t>f  the  Moors  in  Spain.  This  is  a  frequent  theme  in  our 
period,  and  is  found  in  drama,  lyric,  and  narrative.  The  Alhambra, 
the  wars  helween  Moors  and  Spaniards,  including  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  ('id.  tlie  loves  between  man  of  one  race  and  maiden 
of  tlie  other,  the  Moorish  dance  and  song,  the  relation  of  the 
Mohanunedans  in  Spain  to  those  in  Africa,  are  among  the  specific 
subjects.  In  most  poets  such  themes  suggested  a  romantic  inter- 
pretation; and  in  such  a  poetess  as  Mrs.  Hemans  they  were  among 
the  resources  of  the  sentimental  muse.  Some  of  the  diction  of 
Oriental  derivation  appearing  in  the  verse  of  our  period,  reached 
England  through  Spain. 

The  Englishman  of  our  period  was  a  traveller,  either  in  fancy  or 
in  the  flesh;  for  purposes  of  pleasure,  culture,  business  or  religion. 
In  Rhymes  on  the  Road,  Moore  names  Egypt,  Carolina,  and  China, 
as  regions  where  his  fellow  countrymen  might  be  found,  and 
generalizes  thus: 

"Go  where  we  may — -rest  where  we  will, 
Eternal  London  haunts  us  still." 

It  is  not  strange  that  English  verse, should  contain  many  refer- 
ences to  Englishmen  in  the  Orient.  The  group  is  a  motley  one, 
including  sailor  and  soldier,  painter  and  priest,  bishop  and  society 
belle. 

Of  the  Oriental  poets  themselves,  several  visited  one  part  or  an- 
other of  the  Orient.  Before  our  period  began,  Mrs.  Montagu  pro- 
duced Verses  Written  in  the  Chiosk  of  the  British  Palace,  at  Pera, 
Overlooking  the  City  of  Constantinople.  Jones  subscribed  several 
of  his  poems  as  written  in  India,  and  in  Plassey-Plain  he  made 
amusing  reference  to  his  wife's  ignorance  of  the  native  language, 
Byron  in  the  East  is  too  familiar  a  subject  to  require  notice; 
Heber  is  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  paper.  "L.  E.  L. ",  living 
all  her  life  in  London,  "had  always  cherished  dreams  of  Africa", 
«nd  had  the  dubious  satisfaction  of  dying  there.^*    But  it  was  only 

4.5.      Italy;  XIII.  St.  Mark's  Place. 
46.      Miles,  vol.  VII.  p.  108. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  60 

in  imagination  that  Burns,  White,  Montgomery,  Coleridge,  Keats, 
Shelley,  and  the  great  majority  of  English  poets,  ever  visited  the 
Orient. 

In  two  interesting  pieces  of  vers  de  societe"  Hood  writes  of  young 
women  on  the  eve  of  their  departure  for  India.  John  Logan 
writes  of  a  woman  whose  lover  "to  Indian  climes  had  roved". 
The  Oriental  travels  of  the  hero  of  Alastor  are  of  more  serious  im- 
portance in  English  poetry.  Perhaps  the  best  example  presenting 
sailors  in  the  East,  aside  from  translations,  is  found  in  The  Ship- 
wreck. Paul  Whitehead,  in  An  Occasional  So7ig  (spoken  by  a 
stage  sergeant)  follows  the  victorious  English  soldier  from  Cape 
Breton  to  "Guardelupe"  and  Senegal.  Praed  refers  to  a  judge  in 
Bengal,  and  a  character  who  is  "rich  in  Canton".  In  Surly  Hall 
this  poet  expresses  approval  of  the  painter  Hamilton, 

"Whether  his  sportive  canvass  shows 
Arabia's  sands  or  Zembla's  snows," 

John  Scott,  in  his  Essay  on  Painting,  places  English  artists,  real  or 
imaginary,  in  Jamaica,  by  the  rocks  of  Ulitea,  and  by  "Nile's  vast 
flood  on  Egypt's  level."  White  of  Selborne  discussed  the  hiberna- 
tion of  swallows  in  English  mud,  but  John  Cunningham's  bird  of 
the  air  is 

"Winged  for  Memphis  or  the  Nile. "^^ 

Still  more  fanciful  is  Lovibond's  account  of  the  flight  of  the  festival 
spirit,  weary  of  Europe,  into  the  Orient;  in  The  Tears  of  Old  May- 
Day. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  our  period  there  are  in  English  verse  a 
score,  perhai)s  a  hundred,  references  to  the  unknown  sources  of 
the  Nile.  Such  reference  was  among  the  conventional  items  in 
passages  on  the  great  river.  It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  note 
more  than  one  later  allusion  to  Bruce,  as  the  discoverer  of  these 
sources.  In  Crabbe's  Adventures  of  Richard,*'^  the  stay-at-home 
George  inquires  of  his  much-traveled  brother  Richard, 

"Say,  hast  thou,  Bruce-like,  knelt  upon  the  bed 
Where  the  young  Nile  uplifts  his  branchy  head.^" 


47.  Lines  to  a  Lady  on  Her  Departure,  for  India,  and  I'm  doing  to  liombav. 

48.  In  Ode  XXXIII:  To  the  Swallow. 

49.  Talen  of  the  Hall;  Book  IV. 


C_\  I'liiirrsiti/  of  KanMd.s  II iitnanistic  Studies 

Aiul  it  is  tlu"  >;iiiu>  dry,  stem  realist  wlio  writes  in  Clubs  and  Social 

Mt'ftliuj.'i: 

"When  liriKv,  that  dauntless  traveller,  thought  he  stood 
On  Nile's  Hrsl  rise,  the  fountain  of  the  flood, 
And  drank  exulting  in  the  sacred  sj)ring, 
The  critics  told  him  it  was  no  such  thing; 
That  springs  unnunihercd  round  the  country  ran, 
Hut  none  could  show  him  where  the  first  began.  "^^ 

Far  more  romantic,  and  with  as  much  genuine  insight  into  human 
nature,  is  Mrs.  lleman's  fanciful  record  of  The  Trareller  at  the 
Source  of  the  \He. 

Captain  Cook  is  another  English  hero  whose  journeys  into  far 
Eastern — or  Southern — regions  are  rather  frequently  recorded  in 
verse.  Frere  is  one  poet  who  mentions  him,  and  in  his  second 
Epistle  John  Scott  has  a  passage  of  eight  lines,  beginning 

"Such,  hapless  Cook!  amid  the  southern  main, 
Rose  thy  Taheite's  peaks  and  flowery  plain. " 

Both  Nelson  and  Casabianca  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile  are  subjects 
of  poetic  praise. 

The  account  of  the  early  Protestant  missionary  efforts  of  Eng- 
land is  found  chiefly  in  prose;  but  enters  verse  here  and  there. 
Something  of  the  poetic  quality  that  literature  has  associated  with 
the  Jesuit  fathers  in  the  w  ilds  of  America  is  to  be  credited  to  this 
or  that  servant  of  Anglicanism  or  Dissent.  In  Grahame's  Sabbath 
we  have  a  general  picture  of  an  imaginary  missionary  in  the  islands 
of  the  South;  Praed's  Greek  poem  translated  into  English  under 
the  title  Hindostan  is  a  tribute  to  the  work  of  Thomas  Fanshawe 
Middleton,  Bishop  of  Calcutta.  Heber  left  his  own  records  of  the 
East  in  prose  and  verse.  Among  the  poems  on  the  man  or  his 
work  are  Mrs.  Hemans'  To  the  Memory  of  Heber,  and  Southey's 
Ode  on  the  Portrait  of  Bishop  Heber.  The  first  of  these  two  pieces 
is  religious  and  reverential  in  spirit,  scarcely  Oriental;  the  second 
contains  a  few  such  lines  as. 


and. 


"The  Malabar,  the  Moor,  and  the  Cingalese," 


"Ram  boweth  down, 
Creeshna  and  Seeva  stoop; 
The  Arabian  Moon  must  wane  to  wax  no  more, " 


50.      The  Borough;  Letter  X. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  65 

It  is  not  appropriate  to  our  purpose  to  consider  the  verse  of 
Protestant  missions  in  general,  or  of  Catholic, — as  in  Bowles'  Mis- 
sionary, with  its  resonant  Latin  line, 

**Eternam  pacem  dona,  Domine." 

James  Montgomery  is  perhaps  the  poet  of  any  note  who  gives 
this  subject  most  attention.  His  Greenland  is  a  missionary  poem; 
his  Cry  from  South  Africa  is  an  evangelical  poem,  and  the  mission- 
ary for  whom  the  Farewell  was  written  may,  for  aught  the  reader 
knows,  have  been  bound  for  the  Orient.  Montgomery's  Daisy  in 
India  is  a  sincere  and  simple  poem  on  exile  and  home  memories  in 
the  East,  and  is  concerned  with  the  Baptist  missionary.  Dr. 
William  Carey.  Patriotism  is  perhaps  associated  with  religion. 
If  that  is  true,  we  may  well  note  here  Walter  Scott's  prologue  to 
The  Family  Legend,  which  tells  us  that  the  wild  tales  of  "romantic 
Caledon"  stir  the  heart  of  the  exiled  Scotchman, 

"Whether  on  India's  burning  coasts  he  toil, 
Or  till  Acadia's  winter-fettered  soil." 

England's  dead  who  rest  in  the  Seven  Seas  make  a  great  com- 
pany. England's  dead  in  the  Orient  are  for  the  most  part  unre- 
corded in  English  verse,  but  here  and  there  a  group  or  an  individual 
is  memorialized  by  the  poet — and  for  the  poet  an  imaginary 
character  may  create  pathos  as  well  as  a  real  character.  Words- 
worth's Liberty  is  addressed  to  a  woman  friend  who  died,  after  the 
piece  was  written,  "on  her  way  from  Shalapore  to  Bombay, 
deeply  lamented  by  all  who  knew  her".  John  Wilson's  Widow  is 
scarcely  an  Oriental  poem,  but  the  husband  for  whom  the  woman 
mourns  perished  in  the  East: — 

"For  the  bayonet  is  red  with  gore, 
And  he,  the  beautiful  and  brave, 
Now  sleeps  in  Egypt's  sand." 

Among  the  numerous  poems  of  Mrs.Hemans  on  death,  the  funeral, 
and  the  grave,  is  one  inspired  by  these  lines  of  "Christopher 
North  " — The  Burial  in  the  Desert.  This  poem  is  far  more  Oriental- 
ized than  the  one  which  suggested  it,  and  contains  the  recurring 
line, 

"In  the  shadow  of  the  Pyramid." 
Though  not  in  verse,  Macaulay's  Latin  epitaphs  on  servants  of 


g$  I'nirerxit!^  of  Kdiisn.s-  IJiiiiKmiaiic  ISiudies 

Kn^'l:ui«l  \vlu>  (lii'd  in   India  may  1)0  inontioned,  as,  in  a  sense, 
"poi'lii-  efforts". 

Our  present  aitount  of  the  English  in  the  Orient  is  scant  indeed 
in  comparison  with  the  actual  historical  activities.  But  if  all  of 
life  were  descrii)ed  in  poetry,  or  all  of  English  prose  transformed 
into  verse,  the  special  function  of  poetry  itself  would  probably  be 
unfulfilled.  Before  it  becomes  a  subject  for  poetry,  says  Words- 
worth in  the  famous  Preface,  science  must  become  "familiar", 
and  its  relations  contemplated  as  "manifestly  and  palpably 
material  to  us  as  enjoying  and  suffering  beings".  Jones  did  not 
attempt  to  versify  any  large  portion  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
Orient.  Sir  James  Mackintosh  in  his  Discourse  Read  at  the  Opening 
of  the  Literanj  Society  of  Bombay,  (November  26,  1804),  said  of 
Sir  William:  "He  was  among  the  distinguished  persons  who 
adorned  o!ie  of  the  brightest  periods  of  EngHsh  literature".  Per- 
haps " English  scholarship"  might  have  been  better.  The  speaker 
then  proceeded  to  propose  a  program  of  study  for  the  Englishman 
in  India,  including  botany,  zoologj\  mineralogy  and  political 
economy.  The  address  closed  with  these  words:  "On  a  future 
occasion  I  may  have  the  honour  to  lay  before  you  my  thoughts  on 
the  principal  objects  of  inquiry  into  the  geography,  ancient  and 
modern,  the  languages,  the  literature,  the  necessary  and  elegant 
arts,  the  religion,  the  authentic  history  and  the  antiquities  of  In- 
dia", etc.  However  it  may  be  with  English  science  and  scholar- 
ship, it  is  safe  to  say  that  English  poetry  has  not  yet  completed 
this  program  of  1804. 

The  English  are  not  the  only  people  of  western  Europe  to  appear 
in  the  Orient  in  English  poetry.  If  we  include  the  translations  of 
Camoens,  Tasso,  and  Ariosto  made  during  our  period,  we  have  a 
host  of  individuals,  historical  or  fictitious,  and  of  epic  groups, 
from  Spain,  Italy,  France,  and  northern  Europe.  They  are 
occupied  in  sailing  about  Africa,  to  visit  and  conquer  India;  in 
various  Asiatic  or  East-European  travels  for  pleasure  or  military 
adventure;  in  warring  with  the  assembled  hosts  of  the  Saracens 
to  rescue  "//  gran  Sepolcro'\  with  mention  of  which  the  Gerusa- 
lemme  Liber  at  a  opens  and  closes.  If  these  works  are  not  products 
of  English  imagination,  they  belong  to  English  poetry,  in  a  liberal 
view,  in  verse  and  diction.    Camoens  and  Vasco  da  Gama  both 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  67 

appear  in  English  lyric  poetry,  the  former  in  The  Last  Song  of 
Camoens,  by  Bowles;  the  latter  (along  with  Albuquerk  and  others) 
in  Mickle's  Alniada  Hill.  To  the  themes  of  epic  breadth,  we  may 
add  that  of  the  Napoleonic  armies  in  Russia. 

The  relations  of  Venice  to  the  Orient  are  barely  suggested  in  the 
opening  line  of  a  familiar  Wordsworthian  sonnet: — 

"  Once  did  She  hold  the  gorgeous  east  in  fee. " 

So  far  as  commercial  relations  between  Venice  and  the  Eastern 
Mediterranean  region  are  concerned,  perhaps  no  more  Oriental 
passage  could  he  found  than  this  from  Rogers'  Italy: 

"Who  met  not  the  Venetian? — ^now  in  Cairo; 
Ere  yet  the  Califa  came,  listening  to  hear 
Its  bells  approaching  from  the  Red-Sea  coast; 
Now  on  the  Euxine,  on  the  Sea  of  Azoph, 
In  converse  with  the  Persian,  with  the  Russ, 
The  Tartar;  on  his  lowly  deck  receiving 
Pearls  from  the  Gulf  of  Ormus,  gems  from  Bagdad, 
Eyes  brighter  yet,  that  shed  the  light  of  love. 
From  Georgia,  from  Circassia.     Wandering  round, 
When  in  the  rich  bazaar  he  saw  displayed. 
Treasures  from  unknown  climes,  away  he  went. 
And,  travelling  slowly  upward,  drew  ere-long 
From  the  well-head,  supplying  all  below; 
Making  the  Imperial  City  of  the  East, 
Herself,  his  tributary.  "^^ 

In  Faust,  Goethe  symbolized,  by  the  marriage  of  Faust  with 
Helen,  the  union  of  Gothic  genius  with  the  classical  Greek.  Though 
we  have  in  English  poetry  one  book  of  a  long  narrative  poem 
dedicated  to  the  "  Genius  of  Afric",*^  there  is  perhaps  no  poem  or 
passage  which  transcends  the  usual  contrast  between  the  East  and 
the  West  by  any  thought  or  imagery  of  mystic  harmony  between 
the  two.  A  suggestion  in  this  direction,  however,  may  be  found, 
without  too  fanciful  interpretation,  in  The  Bridal  of  Triermain. 
In  the  third  canto  there  is  a  dream  of  fair  maidens  in  processional — 
maidens  of  Asia,  Africa,  Europe,  and  America.  For  each  region 
there  is  some  appropriate  imagery  and  diction.  A  comparison  of 
Scott  and  Blake  seems  strange,  but  in  this  assembling  of  the 
continents  for  the  high  purposes  of  poetry,  there  seems  something 


51.  Italy;  Part  I.  XI. 

52.  Grainger's  Sugar-Cane;  Book  IV. 


C8  I'nirrr.s'it!/  of  Knu.sas  IIuni(inii<t{c  Sfudie.s 

akin  to  tlio  mot  lux!  of  Mlakc  in  his  j;;eographic  symbolism.  First 
o>mo  the  "Four  Maiils  whom  Afric  hore",  singing  in  the  Moorish 
tongue  of  tljo  ruins  of  Carthago,  the  Siroc  of  Sahara,  and  the  spell 
of  Dahomay.  Then  follow  maidens  of  "dark-red  dye",  bearing 
palniolto  baskets,  and  singing  of  the  ])erished  glory  of  Peru.  Next 
enter  tiio  maidens  whose  faces  have  been  tinted  by  the  "suns  of 
Candahar".  whose  Eastern  pomp  is  aided  by  hennah  and  siimah, 
who  are  ohui  in  the  costumes  of  a  sensuous  land.  Finally,  api)ear, 
each  representative  of  her  native  land,  the  daughters  of  France, 
Spain,  Germany,  and  "merry  England", — the  last  dressed  "like 
ancient  Hritish  Druidess".  So  harmonize  for  once,  in  a  poet's 
fancy,  the  Celtic,  Occidental,  Germanic,  and  Oriental  tones  of 
the  Romantic  Movement. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Orient  Itself 

Our  poets  sometimes  consider  "The  Orient"  or  "The  East"  as 
a  unit,  without  definite  boundaries.  Again,  Asia  or  Africa  is  often 
presented  as  a  unit,  in  a  single  thought  or  image.  Sometimes 
Oriental  reference  is  made  in  very  vague  manner,  without  any 
specific  geographical  term  or  terms.  Yet  in  the  body  of  verse  as  a 
whole,  the  reader  is  not  left  without  abundant,  if  scarcely  coherent, 
details  in  the  poetical  map  of  the  East. 

This  map  reaches  from  Sarmatia  and  Zembla  on  the  north — 
with  lines  extended  to  the  Pole — to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and 
New  Zealand  on  the  south;  from  northeast  to  southwest  it  reaches 
(according  to  the  definition  for  this  study)  from  Kamchatka  to 
Senegal  and  the  Canary  Islands.  It  embraces  a  hundred  countries, 
almost  innumerable  "coasts"  and  islands;  seas,  lakes,  and  interiors 
remote  from  ordinary  travel — ^from  Caffraria  to  the  Desert  of 
Gobi.  The  portions  drawn  in  clearest  design  are  of  course  the 
more  familiar  sections — Arabia,  India,  Egypt,  the  Sahara,  Turkey, 
etc.  But  in  one  passage  or  another  this  or  that  poet  sketches  in, 
at  least  in  outline  or  in  name,  Sumatra,  Tahiti,  Siam,  Madagascar, 
Tartary,  and  many  another  region.  During  our  period  China  and 
Japan  are  relatively  neglected.^* 

In  the  entire  region  about  the  Eastern  Mediterranean  the  poets 
often  follow  the  traditions  of  Biblical  or  classical  literature;  yet 
much  of  this  region  is  modernized,  given  a  fresh  and  more  strictly 
Oriental  value.  The  Palestine  of  the  Crusades,  the  Egypt  of 
Bruce  and  Nelson,  are  not  Biblical.  The  isles  of  Greece  as  seen  by 
Byron  and,  earlier,  by  the  sailors  of  The  Shipwreck,  are  not  quite 


53.  China  seems  more  frequently  mentioned  than  Japan.  Boyse  has  the  follow- 
ing lines  in  The  Triumphs  of  Nature.  He  is  speaking  of  a  pond  in  "  the  magnificent 
gardens  at  Stowe,  in  Buckinghamshire". 

"In  which,  of  form  Chinese,  a  structure  Uos, 
Where  all  her  wild  grotesques  display  surprise, 
Within  Japan  her  glittering  treasure  yields. 
And  ships  of  amber  sail  on  golden  fields. " 
There  are  of  course  many  other  references  dealing  more  directly  with  CMilna  and 
with  Japan,  but  they  are  usually  rather  brief. 

S9 


70  I'fiivcrsHij  of  Katisos  Ihnmmi.siic  Studies 

tlu>M-  i»f  lloiiur  or  rimlar;  the  (iroetc  that  bows  beneath  the  Turk 
i>  m>t  the  (irttx'o  of  Tluu ydiilrs. 

If  ini>jht  bo  (»f  soino  interest,  l)ut  it  would  be  a  long  task,  to 
traee  out  the  geography,  history,  the  social  and  the  natural  life, 
of  eaih  country  as  English  verse  presents  it.  Many  sections  are 
usually  mentioned  in  simple  and  repeated  formulas,  suggesting 
our  study  of  conventional  phrases  in  Chapter  III.  Circassia  is 
often  associated  with  feminine  beauty;  Siberia  with  cold  and  wild- 
uess,  though  one  poet  describes  its  sh)w-moving  caravans.  The 
witches  and  the  reindeer  are  frequent  items  for  Lapland.  Literary 
Russia  hardly  appears;  or  the  Russia  of  serfs  and  bureaucracy. 
The  poetic  Russia  of  the  jieriod  is  that  of  Catherine  or  Peter,  of 
cold  and  bears,  of  the  Napoleonic  invasion,  of  the  conflict  with  the 
Turk,  or  the  Russia  known  through  its  political  relations  with 
England.  This  statement,  however,  omits  the  work  of  Sir  John 
Bowring,  late  in  our  period." 

The  climate  of  the  Orient,  in  the  large  sense  adoj»ted  for  this 
study,  of  course  has  little  unity.  To  consider  merely  temi)erature, 
the  poets  give  much  attention  to  extreme  cold  and  extreme  heat, 
often  by  way  of  antithesis.  'From  Zembla's  cold  to  Afric's  heat ' 
is  a  typical  phrase  form.  In  the  more  southerly  sections,  the 
Caucasian  Mountains  or  perhaps  Atlas  serve  as  symbols  of  cold. 
The  emjihasis,  on  the  whole,  is  apparently  on  the  heat.  Such  words 
as  hot,  torrid,  burning,  scorching,  sunburnt,  are  frequent  in 
descriptions  of  various  parts  of  Asia  and  of  Africa.  In  The  Fatal 
Curiosity  we  read  of  the  "eternal  sultry  summer"  of  India,  and 
one  poet  writes  of  the  "eternal  dog-star"  of  Africa.  The  East  in 
general  is  "the  land  of  the  sun".  Associated  in  part  with  this 
emphasis  on  heat  are  the  ideas  of  disease  and  of  fertility.  "Fever- 
ish" is  not  a  rare  word;  pestilence  as  well  as  drouth  are  often  men- 
tioned. It  was  a  "land  of  births",  writes  James  Montgomery  of 
a  Southern  region;  and  in  a  score  of  poets  we  read  of  the  prolific 
life  in  various  parts  of  the  South  or  the  East — of  the  multitudes  of 
strange  creatures  that  haunt  the  jungles,  creep  along  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  or  fly  above  the  coral-islands. 

In  topographical  features,  there  is  frequent  reference,  probably 
not  always  appropriate,  to  "groves"  and  to  "plains";  with  the 


54.  In  prose,  a  translation  of  Karamzine's  Poor  Lisa  appeared  in  London  about 
1805  (7).  A  review  of  the  French  translation  of  his  Russia  Is  found  in  the  MiscellC' 
nfous  Essays  of  Archibald  Alison. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  71 

addition  of  many  valleys  and  occasional  "glens".  The  Gulf  of 
Ornuis,  the  lilack  Sea,  and  the  Caspian  Sea  are  often  named,  The 
great  rivers  of  the  East  proper  and  of  Africa  are  introduced  in 
liundreds  of  passages — the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  the  Ganges, 
tlie  Nile,  the  Niger  and  the  Gambia,  the  Danube  and  the  Volga. 
The  mountains  which  receive  most  attention  are  the  Himalayas, 
the  Caucasian,  Atlas,  and  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon. 

Of  all  the  types  of  Eastern  scenery,  perhaps  none  is  more  fasci- 
nating to  the  imagination  of  the  poets  than  the  desert.  It  is  some- 
times Arabian,  sometimes  the  Sahara,  sometimes  simply  the 
generic  desert.  It  is  a  region  of  "sand-spouts "  and  " sand-waves " ; 
of  drouth  and  staggering  sunshine;  of  the  pelican  and  the  camel;  of 
weary  caravan,  of  mocking  mirage  and  restful  oasis;  of  the  "red 
wing  of  the  fierce  Monsoon",*^  and  again  and  again  of  death. 
Mrs.  Hemans  writes  separate  poems  on  its  Flower,  its  Caravan,  and 
its  Burial.  James  MoTitgomery  describes  the  mirage  in  these 
lines — praising  a  chieftain  hero  of  his  story : 

"Nor  less  benign  his  influence  than  fresh  showers 
Upon  the  fainting  wilderness,  where  bands 
Of  pilgrims,  bound  for  Mecca,  with  their  camels, 
lae  down  to  die  together  in  despair. 
When  the  deceitful  mirage,  that  appeared 
A  pool  of  water  trembling  in  the  sun. 
Hath  vanished  from  the  bloodshot  eye  of  thirst.  "^^ 

Sir  John  Bowring  pictures  the  mirage  of  the  Sahara  in  one  of  his 
religious  lyrics.  Better  no  doubt,  as  poetry,  than  most  of  the  more 
elaborate  descriptions  is  Shelley's  simple  if  alliterative  vision: — 

"...  boundless  and  bare 
The  lone  and  level  sands  stretch  far  away. " 

liernardin  de  St.  Pierre  was  not  the  only  European  author  of  the 
period  to  turn  a  study  of  plant  life  to  imaginative  jjurposes.  Among 
tl.e  English  poets,  Crabbe  followed  botany  as  a  diversion,  as  Cow- 
ley had  done  before  him,  and  with  some  poetic  result.  Mason's 
English  Garden  and  Langhorne's  Fables  of  Flora,  as  well  as  Darwin's 
Lores  of  the  Plants  are  among  the  titles  suggestive  of  this  taste. 
In  the  Oriental  verse  there  are  n)any  references  to  Eastern  flowers 
and  trees.     Among  the  favorite  trees  are  the  cypress,  tanuirind, 


55.  Kirke  White;  Sonn«< /A'. 

56.  The  Prlican  Island:  Canto  IX. 


7?  i'tiirt'rsitif  of  Kiinsns  Iliniunii.'^lic  Sivdie.s 

tialo.  fill.  |>alni.  and  l)jinyaii.  The  inalignant  "poison-tree"  of 
Java  exercises  a  kitul  of"  cliarin  ovei-  se\eral  poets.  Darwin  gives 
it  e  )!>-iiiliM-al)le  space  in  one  of  Ills  jjoenis.  Auiont;'  the  flowers  most 
(»ften  nienlioned  are  the  jasmine  and  the  rose"'.  INIrs.  Hemans' 
Flourr  of  the  Desert  probahly  ph'ased  some  readers  all  the  more 
heeause  it  was  yiven  no  name,  though,  in  the  author's  fancy,  it 
hail  a  '*  purple  hell ".  There  is  perhaps  nothing  in  the  Orientalized 
verse  to  compare  with  the  7V)  a  Snoirdrop  of  Wordsworth,  or  with 
The  YeJIoir  I'iolet  of  Bryant.  Dr.  Langhorne  gives  a  curious  bit 
of  criticism  on  the  fourth  Eclof/ue  of  Collins.  "Nevertheless",  he 
writes,  "in  this  deHghtful  landscape  there  is  an  obvious  fault: 
there  is  no  distinction  between  the  i)lain  of  Zabran,  and  the  vale 
of  .Vly :  they  are  both  flowerij,  and  consequently  undiversified  ...  it 
had  not  occured  to  [the  poet]  that  he  had  employed  the  epithet 
floicerij  twice  within  so  short  a  compass  ".^^  In  the  third  Eclogue, 
however,  Collins  names  the  "gay-motleyed  ])inks  and  sweet 
jonquils",  the  violet  and  the  rose,  with  the  usual  footnote  to  sup- 
port his  choice.  Campbell's  flowers  of  Numidia,  in  The  Dead 
Eagle,  are  the  alasum,  bugloss,  fennel,  tulips,  sunflowers,  and 
asphodel. 

The  animal  life  introduced  ranges  from  the  coral  worm,  described 
at  some  length  in  Montgomery's  Pelican  Island,  through  butter- 
flies, bats,  birds,  and  reptiles,  to  the  large  quadrupeds — the  camel, 
the  giraffe,  and  the  elephant.  The  gazelle,  the  antelope,  the  lion 
and  the  tiger  are  favorites,  while  the  hyena  occasionally  appears. 
The  "pard"  is  a  quadruped  of  the  East  in  the  verse  of  Miss 
Baillie,  Keats,  and  others.  Keats  has  this  simile  in  Otho  the  Great: 
"Hunted  me  as  the  Tartar  does  the  boar".  The  Russian  bear 
enters  the  scene  at  rather  long  intervals.  The  kangaroo  appears 
in  a  Fahle by  Hood  and  its  "sad  note "  is  heard  in  Southey's  Botany 
Bay  Eclogues.  The  giraffe  is  described  in  one  passage  by  Mont- 
gomery, and  is  the  chief  figure  in  one  of  Hood's  poems. ^^  The 
gazelle  of  Lalla  Rookh  will  be  remembered.  The  zebra  appears  in 
Keats  and  in  Wells;  and  Shelley  places  the  llama  in  India.  To 
Crabbe,  as  we  have  seen,  a  portion  of  the  East  is  the  "far  land  of 
crocodiles  and  apes";  but  in  general  the  near  relatives  of  man  do 
not  receive  much  attention.     Perhaps  for  historical  reasons,  the 


57.     See  also  supra,  p.  48. 

68.     Edition  of  Collins  named  in  the  Appendix,  I,  A;  p.  137. 

.50.     Ode  to  the  Cameleopard. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  73 

words  "baboon",  "chimpanzee",  "gorilla"  and  the  like  are  rare 
words,  if  found  at  all,  in  the  English  verse  of  our  period.  This 
passage  from  Miss  Baillie  may  be  considered  rather  exceptional: 

'Twill  be  as  though  a  troop  of  mowing  monkeys. 

With  antic  mimic  motions  of  defiance. 

Should  front  the  brindled  tiger  and  his  brood.  "'^'^ 

Among  the  birds  given  most  attention  are  the  "locust-bird", 
the  crocodile  bird,  the  vulture,  and  in  particular,  the  pelican,  the 
ostrich,  the  bird  of  paradise,  and  the  nightingale.  The  "desert 
pelican"  is  a  phrase  of  Keble's,  and  this  species  is  given  much 
attention  not  only  in  Montgomery's  poem,  but  also  in  Thalaha. 
The  albatross  is  doubtless  nowhere  else  so  emphasized  as  in  The 
Ancient  Mariner,  but  it  is  found  in  this  or  that  poem  in  a  setting 
more  strictly  Oriental.  In  Lalla  Rookh,  among  the  birds  are  the 
blue  pigeons  of  Mecca,  the  "thrush  of  Indostan",  and  the  Indian 
grosbeak. 

Shelley  seems  somewhat  fond  of  the  word  "snake",  and  he 
introduces  a  poetic  word  in  "cobra-di-capel".  Hood  reminds  the 
lady  departing  for  India  that  in  that  country, 

"...  the  serpent  dangerously  coileth. 
Or  lies  at  full  length  like  a  tree. " 

The  crocodile  of  the  English  poets  is  the  "river-dragon",  or  the 
"devil-beast".  He  is  king  in  Southey's  fancied  city  of  Croco- 
dilople.  Beddoes  devoted  a  sonnet  to  it,  and  places  the  humming- 
bird safely  in  its  "iron  jaws".  One  poet  honors  our  country  l)y 
naming  the  "American  crocodile".  Associated  also  with  the 
Nile  is  a  serpent  in  Wells'  Joseph  and  His  Brethren.  Among  the 
curses  wherewith  Phraxanor  curses  Joseph  is  this: 

"  ....  May  the  huge  snake 
That  worships  on  the  Nile,  enring  and  crush  thee!""' 

A  review  of  the  numerous  passages  on  the  camel  and  the  ele- 
phant would  show  many  interesting  details  of  imaginative  treat- 
ment. The  'snort'  of  the  camel  is  probably  one  of  the  strangest 
animal  sounds  to  be  found  in  the  verse  we  are  studying.  Jones,  in 
Solima,  makes  the  camels  'bound  o'er  the  lawn  like  the  sportful 
fawn'.    In  the  play  just  referred  to  they  are  found  "dreaming  in 


60.  The  Bride,  I.  3. 

61.  II,  .3. 


7^  rnircrsitji  of  Kansuft  Iluiiiani.siic  Studies 

the   siiii".      The    following   somewhat    curious   passage   may   be 

ijuotrtl  from  an  ohsrure  poem: 

•'The  lumgry  traveller  in  the  dreary  waste 
From  the  slain  eamel  shares  a  rich  repast: 
While  parched  with  thirst,  he  hails  the  plenteous  well. 
Found  in  the  stonuich's  deep  capacious  cell."** 

riie  eiepliaul  in  London  was  briefly  noticed  in  Chapter  V.  In 
his  native  regions  he  is  presented  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Hood's 
Vt)ung  lady  wiio  is  going  to  liombay  remarks  that  "elei)hants  are 
horses  there  ".  In  Miss  Baillie's  The  Bride  there  are  two  references 
to  the  human  body  trampled  under  an  elej)hant's  feet,  as  well  as 
a  vigorous  description  of  the  clearing  of  a  path  through  the  forest 
by  an  elephant's  supple  trunk.  One  of  the  most  original  images 
is  found  in  Montgomery,  with  reference  to  the  dead  body  of  the 
great  beast: — 

"  Bees  in  the  ample  hollow  of  his  skull 
Piled  their  wax-citadels  and  stored  their  honey.  "*^ 

For  the  sake  of  comparison  of  passages  on  the  same  theme, 
these  two  quotations  may  be  given,  the  first  from  Montgomery,  the 
second  from  Milman: 

"The  enormous  elephant  obeyed  their  w\\\. 
And,  tamed  to  cruelty  with  direst  skill. 
Roared  for  the  battle,  when  he  felt  the  goad. 
And  his  proud  lord  his  sinewy  neck  bestrode. 
Through  crashing  ranks  resistless  havoc  bore. 
And  writhed  his  trunk,  and  bathed  his  tusks  in  gore.  "** 

*'  .\s  in  the  Oriental  wars  where  meet 
Sultan  and  Omrah,  under  his  broad  tower 
Moves  stately  the  huge  Elephant,  a  shaft 
Haply  casts  down  his  friendly  rider,  wont 
To  lead  him  to  the  tank,  whose  children  shared 
With  him  their  feast  of  fruits :  awhile  he  droops 
Affectionate  his  loose  and  moaning  trunk; 
Then  in  his  grief  and  vengeance  bursts,  and  bears 
In  his  feet's  trampling  rout  and  disarray 
To  either  army,  ranks  give  way,  and  troops 
Scatter,  while,  swajung  on  his  heaving  back 
His  tottering  tower,  he  shakes  the  sandy  plain. "" 


62.  Cambridge:     The  Scrihlcriad;  Book  I. 

63.  The  Pelican  Island;  Canto  VI.     The  whole  passage  is  interesting. 

64.  The  World  before  the  flood;  Canto  VII. 

65.  Snmor,  Lord  of  the  Bright  City;  Book  XI. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  75 

The  last  selection  is  from  a  poem  of  Saxon  England,  the  "Bright 
City"  of  the  title  being  Gloucester. 

Anthropological  details  are  not  to  be  expected  in  this  period, 
even  if  they  could  be  given  with  poetic  result.  For  the  most  part 
the  poets  confine  themselves  to  color  and  to  general  characteristics 
of  hair  and  eyes.  One  does  not  read  of  'little  yellow  people', 
though  Walter  Scott  writes  of  the  hue  of  "golden  glow''  caused 
by  the  "suns  of  Candahar".^*^  But  such  terms  as  sable,  sooty, 
black, swart,  swarthy,  and  dark-skinned  are  in  frequent  use.  Mac- 
auley  gives  us  the  phrase,  "Syria's  dark-browed  daughters"." 
The  idea  of  the  special  beauty  of  the  Oriental  women,  as  well  as 
of  the  houris  and  peris  is  not  rarely  introduced.  Lloyd  has  a  four- 
line  passage  on  the  feet  of  the  Chinese  ladies,  ill  adapted  for 
pedestrianism,''^  but  Moore,  in  The  Veiled  Prophet,  refers  more 
courteously  to  "the  small,  half-shut  glances  of  Kathay". 

Among  social  groups  most  often  noticed,  are  bands  of  thieves 
and  pifates,  the  women  of  the  harem,  the  members  of  the  caravan, 
the  Chaldean  star-watchers,  the  crowds  about  the  car  of  Jugger- 
naut, the  priests  and  people  in  the  temple,  shepherds,  merchants, 
armies  on  battlefield  or  in  camp.  In  a  larger  sweep,  one  finds  as 
groups  unified  by  imagination,  the  "children  of  Brama",  and  the 
inhabitants  of  all  the  Moslem  world.  The  idea  of  extensive  pop- 
ulations is  frequently  met.  Johnson  actually  gives  some  figures 
for  a  number  of  regions,  in  his  Septem  Mtates.  Such  expressions 
as  thousands,  tens  of  thousands,  myriads,  "million-peopled",  as 
well  as  horde,  tribe,  clan,  etc.,  do  not  seem  accidental  in  the  Ori- 
ental verse.  These  social  groups,  larger  or  smaller,  are  headed  by 
"Sophy,  Sultan,  and  Czar",  by  Pharaohs,  caliphs,  satra})s,  omrahs, 
kings  and  queens.  Not  very  many  historical  persons  of  note  step 
forth  from  the  masses.  The  list  includes  Attila,  Semiramis,  Zen- 
obia,  the  False  Prophet  and  some  of  his  successors,  Confucius,*^^  a 
few  Persian  poets, and  other  names  found  in  Greek,  Latin,  or  Bibli- 
cal records.  Harte  mentions  Mesva,  "an  Arabian  physician  well 
skilled  in  botany ";^^  and  Crabbe  mentions  Fasil  and  Michael  as 


66.  See  supra,  p.  68. 

67.  In  The  Battle  of  the  Lake  Regillus. 

68.  The  Cobbler  of  Crippleqate's  Letter. 

69.  The  association  of  names  in  this  couplet  from  Boyle's  On  the  Death  itl  Sir 
John  James,  Bart,  is  interestinK: 

"To  practice  more  than  Epiclctus  tauKhl, 
Or  Cato  acted,  or  C^onfucius  ihotii^ht." 
TO.      In  Eulogius;  or,  The  Charitable  Mason. 


7tf  rnirrrsity  of  Knri^ins  IltniKinisfic  Studies 

c\  il  .\.1)\  ssinians  of  his  t»\vu  day.  Kosciusko  belongs  to  the  roll  of 
hrnu's  in  Knj,'Hsl»  poetry,  alonj,'  with  William  Tell  and  George 
Washiujil«>n. 

The  social  lite  is,  except  for  a  few  longer  poems  like  Lalla  Rookh, 
represented  in  fragments,  not  very  easily  brought  together  to 
fashion  a  clear  picture.  Much  is  said  of  war,  of  worship,  of  com- 
mercial life.  Something  is  given  of  life  on  the  sea,  in  the  forest,  in 
city  streets.  In  the  period  whieh  produced  Walter  Scott  and 
IManche  it  is  natural  to  find  no  little  attention  given  to  Oriental 
costume.  Southward,  we  find  the  nearly  nude  barbarians  of 
.Vfrica,  and  the  "haik"  of  the  Algerians.  Farther  North  and  East, 
we  learn  something  of  capote,  turban,  shawl,  horse-tails,  sheep- 
skin cai)s,  and  various  priestly  robes.  Many  rich  costumes  are 
descril)ed;  of  silk,  perhaps,  and  decorated  with  "gems  fit  for  a 
Sultan's  diadem".  The  henna  of  feminine  toilet  is  rather  often 
mentioned,  and  occasionally  the  sumah.  There  are  references  to 
the  veils  of  the  Turkish  women,  and  to  the  black  masks  of  the 
Arabian  women.  As  to  military  armor  and  tactics,  the  work  of 
the  elephant  is  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  novelty.  Lance 
and  sword  seem  to  be  carried  into  Oriental  warfare  by  the  imagina- 
tion of  English  poets,  and  the  Parthian  bow  and  arrow,  along  with 
some  other  weapons,  are  to  be  credited  to  the  traditions  of  Biblical 
or  classical  literature  rather  than  to  modern  knowledge  of  the  East. 
The  scimitar  is  a  favorite  of  the  poets,  however,  and  the  jerrid 
and  the  ataghan  are  among  the  weapons  honored  by  footnotes. 
The  great  Eastern  hunt,  in  which  game  of  various  species  is  driven 
gradually  into  the  waiting  corral  by  a  circle  of  hunters,  is  described 
in  several  passages.^'  The  Moorish  dances  of  Spain  and  some  of 
the  dances  of  the  East  itself  are  noticed  in  this  or  that  passage. 

The  life  of  the  home  is  not  prominent,  though  domestic  life  of 
one  type  or  another  is  presented  in  The  Curse  of  Kehama,  Thalaba, 
Lalla  Rookh,  and  other  poems.  The  relation  of  father  and  daughter 
in  the  two  chief  Oriental  poems  of  Southey  is  presumably  modeled 
on  the  good  old  English  standards  in  large  degree.  In  Byron, 
there  is  probably  a  closer  approach  to  the  actual  conditions  of  the 
East.  There  are  comparatively  few  descriptions  of  the  interiors 
of  private  homes.  Life  in  the  tent,  by  soldier,  merchant  or  exile, 
may  be  viewed  to  some  extent  as  a  substitute  for  the  life  of  parlor 


71.     See,  for  example.  The  Prelude,  Book  X. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  77 

and  kitchen.  At  least  it  was  less  familiar  to  the  majority  of  Eng- 
lish readers.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  "black  tents"  of 
Sohrab  and  Rustum  are  not  the  first  of  their  kind  to  appear  in 
English  verse;  for  we  find  the  "sable  tents"  of  the  Arabians  in 
John  Scott's  Zerad. 

The  art  of  the  Orient  may  be  noted  chiefly  with  respect  to 
language,  literature,  and  architecture,  with  very  brief  mention  of 
music  and  painting. 

So  far  as  romantic  interest  is  concerned,  the  ancient  symbolic 
characters  of  Eastern  language  may  correspond  with  the  runes  of 
the  North — both  are  poetic  subjects  in  our  period.  These  lines  of 
Montgomery,  like  various  early  passages  on  the  hidden  sources  of 
the  Nile,  emphasize  recent  progress  in  our  knowledge  of  the  Orient: 

"Egypt's  grey  piles  of  hieroglyphic  grandeur, 
That  have  survived  the  language  which  they  speak, 
Preserving  its  dead  emblems  to  the  eye. 
Yet  hiding  from  the  mind  what  these  reveal.  "^'^ 

Perhaps  no  Oriental  language  receives  such  tribute  as  Jonson  gave 
to  "Latin,  queen  of  tongues","  or  Milton  to  Italian  at  the  clo.se  of 
one  of  his  sonnets: — 

"Qnesta  e  lingua  di  cui  si  vania  Ainore. " 

Jones  gives  an  amusing  account,  in  Plassey-Plain,  of  Lady  Jones' 
experience  in  learning  the  native  tongue  or  tongues  in  India.  The 
elephants  and  perroquets  were  sympathetic  with  her,  the  poem 
states,  but  knew  no  western  language;  and  as  for  the  "patient 
dromedaries",  "Arabic  was  all  they  talked".  Mrs.  Montagu, 
according  to  her  own  account,  was  in  somewhat  the  same  linguistic 
isolation  in  Turkey.  On  March  16, 1718,  she  wrote  from  Constan- 
tinople, "The  memory  can  retain  but  a  certain  number  of  images; 
and  'tis  as  impossible  for  one  human  creature  to  be  master  of  ten 
different  languages,  as  to  have  in  perfect  subjection  ten  different 
kingdoms  ...  in  Pera  they  speak  Turki.sh,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Ar- 
menian, Arabic,  Persian,  Russian,  Sclavonian,  Wallachian,  Cer- 
man,  Dutch,  French,  English,  Italian,  Hungarian;  and  what  is 
worse,  there  are  ten  of  these  languages  spoken  in  my  own  family'  . 
Cotton — himself  a  doctor — speaking  of  a   medical  prescription, 


72.  The  Pelican  Island;  Canto  II. 

73.  A  Fit  of  Rhume  against  Rhyme.. 


7^  I'nlitTsity  of  K ansa."  Iluinani.stic  Studit\'< 

says  that  *it  was  AraMc  to  you  and  me'.  For  the  advantages  of 
kn<nving  Aral)ie  when  among  the  Arabians,  one  may  turn  to 
OHanilo's  aeeonnt  in  lloole's  translation  of  AriostoJ* 

Some  of  the  Oriental  writers  mentioned  in  English  verse  are 
firtiti»)us.  Omar  Khayyam,  it  seems,  was  scarcely  known  in  Eng- 
land during  the  earlier  part  of  our  period.  Hafiz,  Saadi,  and  a  few- 
other  Eastern  poets  are  mentioned.  The  works  attributed  to 
Confucius  are  rarely  noticed  in  our  verse,  though  an  English  trans- 
lati«»n  by  .Joshua  Marshnian  ai)peared  in  1809.  The  chief  emphasis 
is  probably  uiK)n  the  Koran,  from  which  various  ideas  are  wrought 
into  English  verse,  and  on  Arabian  Xights.  The  I'edas  are 
occasionally  mentioned,  and  a  number  of  translations  from  the 
Sanskrit,  or  related  Indian  languages,  were  made  by  Jones  and 
others.  Some  passages  referring  to  the  A  rabian  Xight.s  have  already 
been  noted.  One  more  may  be  added,  though  it  is  not  in  very- 
poetic  language: — 

"  It  minds  one  of  that  famous  Arab  tale 
(First  to  expand  the  struggling  notions 
Of  my  child-brain)  in  which  the  bold  poor  man 
Was  checked  for  lack  of  'Open  Sesame'."" 

A  very  important  art  of  the  Orient,  according  to  our  poets,  is 
architecture.  There  are  in  our  period  no  Oriental  poems  to  rival 
the  Ode  on  a  Grecian  L'rn  or  On  Seeing  the  Elgin  Marbles;  none  like 
Rossetti's  Burden  of  yineveh;  but  there  are  many  passages  and  at 
least  one  poem  of  some  note  on  the  pyramids.  Orientalized  poetry 
is  full  of  temples,  fanes,  domes,  mosques,  minarets,  pagodas, 
kiosks,  and  palaces.  These  structures  are  in  general  to  the  Oriental 
taste  what  the  medieval  castle  was  to  Gothic  taste^^  or  the  "druid- 
ical  circle"  to  the  Celtic.  Now-  in  the  background,  now-  in  the 
foreground,  is  the  gigantic  car  of  Juggernaut,  wreathed  with 
flowers,  crushing  its  victims  to  death.  In  the  temples  are  grim 
forms  of  huge,  misshapen  idols.  On  the  desert  sands  are  the 
prostrate  statue  of  the  tyrant  and  the  crumbled  walls  of  palaces. 
The  Alhambra  receives  a  genuine  Oriental  description  in  Mrs. 
Hemans'  Ahencerrage.  Elsewhere  one  finds  reference  to  the  great 
temple  at  Mecca,  to  the  sacred  stone  and  Zemzem-well.     There 


74.     Book  XXI 11.    Page  190  of  tlie  edition  cited  in  Appendix. 
7.5.      Arthur  Hallam:     Stfdilatire  Fragments.  VI. 

70.     Yet  in  The  Bride,  out  of  fifteen  scenes  we  have  eight  in  or  before  a  castle. 
There  are  two  ra.stles  in  this  play;  that  of  Rasinga  and  that  of  Samarkoon. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  79 

are  several  brief  references  to  the  great  wall  of  China.  Hardly  any 
type  of  Oriental  passage  is  more  frequent  than  that  which  exhibits 
the  pathos  of  the  great  Eastern  ruins — the  ruins  of  Bal)ylon,  Pal- 
myra, Memphis,  Carthage,  or  Eastern  ruins  in  general.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  definite  didactic  touch,  as  in  this  line  from  Boyse's 
Retirement: — 

"And  what  Palmyra  is, — Versailles  may  be." 

Oriental  painting,  so  far  as  our  verse  notices  it,  seems  to  be  done 
largely  by  Englishmen.  That  the  art  of  the  Chinese  painters  was 
not  always  fully  appreciated  is  clear  from  this  line  of  Young's: — 

"The  point  they  aim  at  is  deformity."" 

The  hanging  gardens  of  Babylon  are  sometimes  noted,  and  minor 
"  grove  "  and  even  "  lawn  "  appear  now  and  then.  Lovers  of  Kuhla 
Khan  will  remember  the 

"...  gardens  bright  with  sinuous  rills 
Where  blossomed  many  an  incense-bearing  tree;" 

by  the  borders  of  Alph.  Wordsworth  in  The  Prelude''^  has  a  much 
more  elaborate  description  of  the  gardens  of  Gehol,  fashioned  for 
the  delight  of  the  Tartarian  dynasty. 

Among  musical  instruments  are  the  timbrel  and  the  psaltery, 
suggesting  the  Biblical  influence.  The  lute  is  in  Oriental  ver.se  as 
well  as  in  the  Elizabethan  lyric.  More  strictly  Oriental  are  the 
favorite  atabal,  the  "gong-peal  and  cymbal-dank",  the  rebeck 
(though  this  is  found  in  U Allegro),  and  the  bells  upon  the  dancer's 
ankles.'^  Various  more  or  less  musical  chants,  battle-cries,  and 
lamentations  of  mourners  are  introduced;  the  "tecbir"  is  heart! 
in  (juite  a  number  of  poems.  In  The  Bride  of  Ahydos  one  finds  the 
"OUahs",  the  call  of  the  muezzin,  the  "wul-wulleh",  and  the 
"hymn  of  fate"  by  the  Koran-chanters.  The  fact  that  a  number 
of  poems  are  written,  or  announced  as  written,  for  Eastern  "jiirs" 
may  indicate  some  interest  in  Oriental  music.  Moore  paid  con- 
siderable attention  to  musical  matters  in  Lalla  lioohh;  not  neglect- 
ing the  customary  exj)lanations  of  footnotes.  One  learns  from  him 
something  of  the    pastoral  reed  and  the  AV)y.ssinian  trumpet;  of 


77.  Love  of  Fame,  the  Univi  rsnl  Passion;  Satire  VI. 

78.  Book  VIII. 

7(».      All  the  inatrunierits  named  in  this  si-ntt-nci'  an-  roiiiid  In   /'/i*'  Vision  of  Don 
Roderick,  stanzas  19  and  25. 


80  riilrtr.siii/  of  Kansa.s  Iliimani.stic  Studies 

"ktTmi"  ami  "syriiula  ";  of  the  Ix'IIs  on  tlie  \\  aists  or  ankles  of  the 
»laiu-ers.  II(>  tells  ns  (<juotiiif>;,  as  often)  that  "The  Easterns  used 
to  set  out  «)n  their  lon<j,(M-  voyages  with  music".  The  song  of 
Zeliea  sung  lt>  the  lute  is  like  that  of  the  dying  hidhul.  "There's 
a  bower  of  roses"  is  sung 

"In  the  pathetic  mode  of  Isfahan." 

I'he  mythology  of  the  Eastern  peoples  appeals  to  the  iuuigina- 
tii>n  of  the  English  poets;  their  religions  awake  the  fancy  of  some, 
arouse  the  missionary  zeal  and  the  sense  of  English  rectitude  and 
sanity  in  others.  A  religious  element  enters  into  some  of  the  wars 
and  racial  antagonisms  considered  in  our  verse.  In  his  review  of 
Lalla  /?(>()/.7/,. Jeffrey  has  this  to  say  of  the  ethics  of  the  great  M^orld 
lying  beyond  the  borders  of  Europe:  "It  may  seem  a  harsh  and 
presumptuous  sentence,  to  some  of  our  Cosmopolite  readers;  but 
from  all  we  have  been  able  to  gather  from  history  or  recent  obser- 
vation, we  should  be  inclined  to  say  that  there  was  no  sound  sense, 
firmness  of  purpose,  or  principled  goodness,  except  among  the 
natives  of  Europe,  and  their  genuine  descendants". 

The  time  was  not  ripe  for  a  study  of  comparative  religion,  or 
for  a  World's  Congress  of  Religions.  Yet  in  Shelley  and  others  we 
have  ideas  far  more  progressive  than  that  just  given  from  the 
famous  critic.  If  Shelley  is  somewhat  disdainful  of  social  religion 
in  general,  he  limits  his  disdain  to  no  one  particular  embodiment 
of  it.    He  writes  in  one  line  of 

"Seeva,  Buddh,  Foh,  Jehovah,  God,  or  Lord.''^" 

In  another  poem  he  wrote: 

"And  Oromaze,  Joshua,  and  Mahomet, 
Moses,  and  Buddh,  Zerdusht,  and  Brahm,  and  Foh."*^ 

Southey,  while  professing  in  his  prefaces  the  orthodox  hostility  to 
Oriental  religions,  reveals  considerable  beauty  in  some  aspects  of 
them.  In  many  poems,  however,  it  is  the  horrible  that  is  empha- 
sized. 

The  Asiatic  and  African  religions  are  often  considered  in  a  very 
general  way,  under  such  conceptions  as  superstition,  heathendom, 
idolatry,  paganism,  and  the  like.     More  specifically,  the  chief 

80.     Queen  Mab;  VII. 

8).      The  Revolt  of  Islam;  X,  31. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  81 

faiths  introduced  are  sun-worship,  the  Egyptian  worship  of  ani- 
mals, Buddhism,  and  Mohammedanism.  Confucianism  receives 
little  attention  in  the  verse  of  our  period,  and  it  is  doubtful  if 
Shinto  is  even  mentioned.  Certain  Egyptian  gods  are  often 
named — Apis,  Anubis,  Isis,  and  Osiris.  The  gods  of  India  to  whom 
Jones  writes  hymns  include  Bhavani,  Camdeo,  Durga,  Ganga, 
Indra,  Lacshmi,  Narayena,  Sereswaty^  and  Surya.  The  East 
Indian  ascetics  are  introduced  in  a  number  of  passages,  and  the 
"devoted  Bride  of  the  fierce  Nile"  appears  in  Lalla  Rookh.  In 
many  poems  the  car  of  Juggernaut  is  pictured,  and  the  suttee 
rebuked  or  pitied.  Much  that  is  poetically  delightful  in  Eastern 
religion,  however,  is  given  to  English  readers.  The  peris,  houris, 
and  glendoveers  are  perhaps  as  pleasing  as  the  fairies  of  Celtic  lore, 
and  certainly  less  grim  than  Woden, Thor, and  the  Valkyries,  made 
familiar  by  the  poets  of  the  Gothic  Renaissance. 

Apart  from  Southey  and  Moore,  the  chief  emphasis  is  probably 
upon  Mohammedanism — as  a  subject  for  English  verse,  less  novel 
than  the  ancient  faiths  of  Persia,  Egypt,  and  India.  Mohammed 
is  the  "false  prophet".  Much  is  taken  from  the  Koran;  ridicule 
or  poetic  approval  is  given  to  the  Mohammedan  paradise.  Polyg- 
amy, sensuality,  the  vow  of  temperance,  the  cruelty  of  the  bigot, 
are  among  the  themes.  "The  Turk"  was  often  a  term  in  an  ex- 
pression of  reproach  including  the  Papist  and  the  Jew.  In  a 
moment  of  satirical  humor  an  English  poet  might  write  in  such 
fashion  as  this : 

"The  sage  Mahometans  have  ever  paid 
Distinguished  honours  to  the  fool  and  mad";^^ 

or  this: 

"That  every  Mussulman  was  killed  in  battle, 
A  fate  most  proper  for  such  heathen  cattle. 
Who  do  not  pray  to  God  our  way."*^ 

To  return  a  moment  to  the  farther  East,  and,  once  more,  to  Miss 
Baillie's  Bride.  In  that  dramatic  poem  we  find  these  interesting 
passages;  on  idolatry  in  general,  on  transmigration  (not  an  un- 
common theme),  and  on  Nirvana,  a  rather  rare  theme  in  our 
period : — 


82.     Cambridge:     The  Scribleriad;  BooU  i. 
8.3.     Wolcott:     Peter's  Pension. 


9t  ritircrsil!/  of  Kansa.'i  I/iinnnn'ntir  Studies 

"Lik.0  a  (Irossotl  idol  in  its  carved  ulcove, 
A  tliinii  of  ^ilk  and  ^'oins  and  t'old  repose."*** 

"\MuMi  in  the  I'orni  of  antelope  or  loorie 
Slie  wends  her  way  to  Boodhoo."'*^ 

**Kven  like  Niwane,  when  the  virtuous  soul 
Hath  run,  through  nuiny  u  change,  its  troubled  course.  "** 

llt)od\s  humor  does  not  fail  him  when  he  chances  to  write  of  the 
suttee: — 

"(io  where  the  Suttee  in  her  own  soot  hroileth.  "*^ 

One  finds  a  much  more  sombre  treatment  of  this  theme  in  these 
passages,  from  Montgomery  and  Bowles  respectively: 

"The  pyre,  that  burns  the  aged  Braniin's  bones 
Runs  cold  in  blood,  and  issues  living  groans. 
When  the  whole  Ilarani  with  the  husband  dies. 
And  demons  dance  around  the  sacrifice."** 

".  .  .  .  on  Ganges'  banks 
Still  superstition  hails  the  flame  of  death. 
Behold,  gay  dressed,  as  in  her  bridal  tire, 
The  self-devoted  beauteous  victim  slow 
Ascend  the  pile  where  her  dead  husband  lies: 
She  kisses  his  cold  cheeks,  inclines  her  breast 
On  his,  and  lights  herself  the  fatal  pile 
That  shall  consume  them  both!"** 


84.  The  Bride;  I,  1. 

85.  Ifrid.;   III.  2. 

86.  Ibid.:  I,  2. 

87.  Lines  to  a  Lady  on  Her  Departure  for  India. 

88.  Verses  to  the  Memory  of  the  Late  Richard  Reynolds;  III. 

89.  The  Spirit  of  Disovery;  Book  V. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Poetic  Values  In  English  Orientalism 

This  chapter  attempts  to  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  chief 
psychological  and  aesthetic  reactions  of  English  poetry  in  our 
period  upon  the  Orient  and  the  Oriental  taste.  In  part,  the  chapter 
may  serve  as  a  review  of  the  preceding  pages.  First  may  be  noted 
some  values  which  represent,  in  the  main,  the  characteristic  spirit 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century;  and  secondly,  those  which  represent, 
on  the  whole,  the  spirit  of  the  Romantic  Movement. 

Among  the  signs  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  spirit  are  satire, 
parody,  emphasis  on  common  sense  and  reason,  artificiality,  and 
didacticism.  In  the  earlier  part  of  our  period,  a  satirical  spirit 
which  touches  Oriental  matters  at  times  is  found  in  Cambridge's 
Scribleriad  and  in  the  verse  of  "Peter  Pindar".  A  humorous 
treatment  of  Warren  Hastings  appears  in  The  Rolliad.  Parody  of 
Orientalized  verse  is  found  in  Rejected  Addresses,  The  Anti-Jacobin, 
and  in  many  detached  poems.  Among  the  individual  poems  paro- 
died by  one  humorist  or  another  were  The  Curse  of  Kehuma,  Kubla 
Khan,  Lalla  Rookh,  The  Giaour,  The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib, 
Casabianca,  and  Abou  ben  Adhem. 

An  interest  in  novel  information  is  apparent  in  the  formidable 
array  of  footnotes  which  accompany  the  longer  Oriental  poems,  in 
prefaces,  introductions,  and  in  numerous  essays.  The  early  Nine- 
teenth Century  essayists — Jeffrey,  Macaulay,  Mackintosh,  Tal- 
fourd,  Sydney  Smith,  and  others — gave  considerable  attention  to 
the  natural  and  social  conditions  in  the  Orient  proper,  and  in 
Africa  and  Australia.  A  semi-scientific  interest  in  the  natural 
history  of  the  East  appears  in  the  verse  of  Erasmus  Darwin  and 
others.  The  Eighteenth  Century  poets  were  fond  of  writing  on 
such  abstract  themes  as  Disease,  Health,  Superstition,  Commerce, 
Navigation,  Taste,  Liberty,  etc.,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
them  again  and  again  drawing  upon  the  Orient  for  some  of  their 

8S 


S4  I'liiirrsit!/  of  Kansatt  Hiimanisiic  Studies 

iiKittMial.  Hi'tU'ctioiis  on  (iirrent  European  conditions  or  on  life 
in  uiMioral  wore  soinctiiiios  emphasized  by  lessons  taken  from  the 
Kast.  Lyttolton  attom])ts  to  arouse  England  to  battle  for  the 
liberties  of  Europe  with  the  warning, 

"Lo !  France,  as  Persia  once,  o'er  every  land 
Prepares  to  stretch  her  all-oppressing  hand."^° 

If  the  elephant  was  an  interesting  theme  for  romantic  observation, 
it  could  also  be  utilized  for  didactic  purj)oses,  as  this  passage 
(antedating  our  period)  from  Tiiomson's  Sumtner  indicates: 

"O  truly  wise!  with  gentle  might  endowed. 
Though  powerful,  not  destructive.    Here  he  sees 
Revolving  ages  sweep  the  changeful  earth, 
And  emjures  rise  and  fall;  regardless  he 
Of  what  the  never-resting  race  of  men 
Project:  thrice  happy'  could  he  'scape  their  guile, 
^Mio  mine,  from  cruel  avarice,  his  steps; 
Or  with  the  towery  grandeur  swell  their  state, 
The  pride  of  kings !  or  else  his  strength  pervert, 
And  bid  him  rage  amid  the  mortal  fray, 
Astonished  at  the  madness  of  mankind. " 

The  Romantic  enthusiasm  for  the  remote  was  to  some  extent 
chilled  by  the  home-loving  patriotism  of  the  English  character  and 
by  a  realistic  suspicion  that  not  all  is  gold  that  glitters — in  the 
distance.  There  are  various  poems  and  passages  expressing  the 
home-sickness  of  one  whom  fate  has  carried  far  over  seas.  Gold- 
smith's emigrants  in  The  Deserted  Village  are  not  the  only  ones  who 
leave  the  British  Isles  with  a  sense  of  loss.  In  The  Sabbath,  Grahame 
writes  thus  of  the  Scotchman  exiled  in  the  Southern  seas : 

"What  strong  mysterious  links  enchain  the  heart 
To  i-egions  where  the  morn  of  life  is  spent ! 
In  foreign  lands,  though  happier  be  the  clime. 
Though  round  our  board  smile  all  the  friends  w^e  love. 
The  face  of  nature  wears  a  stranger's  look. " 

At  the  end  of  his  imaginary  Voyage  Round  the  World,  Montgomery 
returns  home  with  no  little  rejoicing: — 

"Now  to  thee,  to  thee,  I  fly. 
Fairest  isle,  beneath  the  sky, 
To  my  heart,  as  in  mine  eye. 


90.      To  Mr.  Glorcr:     On  His  Poem  of  Leonidas.     (1734.) 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  86 

I  have  seen  them,  one  by  one, 
Every  shore  beneath  the  sun. 
And  ray  voyage  now  is  done. 

While  I  bid  them  all  be  blest, 

Britain  is  my  home,  my  rest; 

— Mine  own  land!    I  love  thee  best." 

If  the  sturdy,  persistent  realism  of  Crabbe  sees  much  that  is  sordid 
in  the  English  village,  it  is  not  deceived  by  the  poetic  praises  of 
distant  regions.    Witness  this  passage  in  Edward  Shore: 

"  'Tis  thus  a  sanguine  reader  loves  to  trace 
The  Nile  forth  rushing  on  his  glorious  race; 
Calm  and  secure  the  fancied  traveller  goes, 
Through  sterile  deserts  and  by  threat 'ning  foes; 
He  thinks  not  then  of  Afric's  scorching  sands, 
Th'  Arabian  sea,  the  Abyssinian  bands; 
Fasils  and  Michaels,  and  the  robbers  all. 
Whom  we  politely  chiefs  and  heroes  call : 
He  of  success  alone  delights  to  think. 
He  views  that  fount,  he  stands  upon  the  brink, 
And  drinks  a  fancied  draught,  exulting  so  to  drink. " 

The  common  sense  of  Gifford  rebels  against  the  obscure  and  arti- 
ficial style  in  which  some  reports  of  foreign  lands  are  given  to  the 
English  stay-at-home,  in  an  interesting  passage  opening  with  the 
lines, 

"Lo!  Beaufoy  tells  of  Afric's  barren  sand 
In  all  the  flowery  phrase  of  fairy  land", 

and  closing  with  the  line, 

"And  call  for  Mandeville,  to  ease  my  head.  "^^ 

We  have  already  indicated  John  Foster's  opinion  of  the  Rama- 
yuna.^^  His  disapproval  of  Indian  architecture  was  equally  em- 
phatic. The  buildings  of  Hindostan  are  "fantastic,  elaborate,  and 
decorated  to  infinity  ....  there  is  device,  and  detail,  and  ramifi- 
cation, and  conceit,  and  fantasy,  to  the  absolute  stupifaction  of 
the  beholder."  The  standards  by  which  he  condenms  this  con- 
fused Eastern  architecture  are  found  not  in  English  but  in  Grecian 
architecture,  with  its  "harmonious  simplicity"." 


91.  The  Baviad. 

92.  Supra,  p.  41. 

93.  Review  of  Daniell's  Oriental  Scenery. 


ft$  I'tiiver.sity  of  Kari.sas  Flumauisiic  Studies 

Tho  Romantic  poet,  at  least  in  his  Romantic  moods,  spoke 
otherwise.  Tho  Orient,  like  the  Oceiclent,  and  with  some  advan- 
tages over  the  latter,  offered  him  that  escape  from  the  local,  the 
faniiiiar,  the  prosaic,  that  flight  into  the  remote  and  the  unknown 
whicli  his  heart  desired.  The  Romantic  critic  understood  the 
situation.  " Passion  is  lord  of  infinite  space ",  wrote  Hazlitt,  "and 
distant    ohjects   please  because  they  border  on  its  confines,  and 

are  moulded  by  its  touch Distance  of  time  has  much  the 

same  effect  as  distance  of  place  ".''^   To  Kirke  White,  "The  distant 
prospect  always  seems  more  fair.  "'^    Keats  sings, 

"Ever  let  the  Fancy  roam. 
Pleasure  never  is  at  home.  '^* 

Coleridge  gives  us  this  couplet  in  Christabel: 

"She  was  most  beautiful  to  see, 
Like  a  lady  of  a  far  countree. "" 

Moore  voices  somewhat  the  same  conception  in  quite  a  different 
manner  in  these  lines  sent  home  from  the  new  world: 

"Oh,  Lady!  these  are  miracles,  which  man, 
C'aged  in  the  bounds  of  Europe's  pigmy  plan. 
Can  scarcely  dream  of;  which  his  eyes  must  sef, 
To  know  how  beautifid  this  world  can  be!"*^ 

The  sense  of  space  and  of  change  may  be  gained  by  rapid  move- 
ment; and  it  seems  no  accident  that  in  the  longer  Oriental  narra- 
tives there  is  found  something  of  the  "Glory  of  Motion" — a 
restless  passing  to  and  fro  in  place  of  the  stable  abiding  supposed 
to  represent  the  typical  English  character.  Southey  did  not  travel 
very  extensively,  and  he  never  saw  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna 
of  which  he  dreamed;  but  in  Thalaba  his  imagination  produced  an 
almost  constant  and  phantasmagoric  shifting  of  scenes.  Mrs. 
Shelley  records  that  she  and  her  husband  were  very  fond  of  travel- 
ing, and  would  have  travelled  much  more  extensively  than  they 
did  if  circumstances  had  permitted.  But  following  his  hero  in 
Alastor,  Shelley  was  "on  the  go"  through  most  of  the  poem. 
Simple  little  journeys  to  France  or  Spain  or  Italy  did  not  satisfy 


94.  Tabic  Talk:     Whu  Distant  Objects  Fhasr. 

95.  From  a  Fragment  ("The  western  gale,"  etc.). 

96.  To  Fancy. 

97.  Christabel;  Part  I. 

9S.  Epistle  IX  ....  Frotn  the  Banks  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence. 


Oahorne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  87 

the  craving  for  change  in  the  true  poet  of  the  Romantic  Movement. 
An  example  of  this  restlessness  of  fancy,  almost  morbid  in  this 
case  perhaps,  is  found  in  the  dreams  Kirke  White  had  of  his  final 
resting  place.  In  a  mood  of  quiet  English  feeling  he  could  write 
of  a  commonplace  English  burial-ground, 

"Here  would  I  wish  to  sleep. — This  is  the  spot 
Which  I  have  long  marked  out  to  lay  my  bones  in; 

Beneath  this  yew  I  Avould  be  sepulchred. 
It  is  a  lovely  spot!"  etc.®^ 

At  another  time  the  Gothic  taste  assails  him,  and  he  answers  its 
demand  thus: 

"Lay  me  in  the  Gothic  tomb, 
In  whose  solemn  fretted  gloom 
I  may  lie  in  mouldering  state. 
With  all  the  grandeur  of  the  great.  "^^*' 

Once  again,  his  craving  for  something  more  remote,  more  un- 
familiar, more  wild,  finds  expression  in  these  lines: 

"Or  that  my  corse  should,  on  some  desert  strand, 
Lie  stretched  beneath  the  Simoom's  blasting  hand."'"* 

"Distance  of  time  has  much  the  same  effect  as  distance  of  place." 
Occasionally  the  antiquity  of  South  American  civilization  is 
expressed  in  English  verse  of  our  period;  but  it  is  to  the  Orient 
that  the  poet  naturally  turned  to  find  remoteness  of  space  and 
remoteness  of  time  combined.  So  far  as  poetry  was  concerned, 
Asia  was  the  cradle  of  the  human  race;  and  the  ruins  of  Egypt  were 
far  older  than  the  medieval  castle,  Roman  road,  or  the  druidical 
circle  of  England.  In  the  diction  of  the  Orientalized  verse 
terms  of  antiquity  are  common.  There  are  numerous  such  phrases 
as  "shattered  with  age",  "antique  niarble",  and  "ancient  lore". 
Egypt  is  "old"  and  "hushed",  "ancient",  "eldest"  and  "dead"; 
she  is  the  " motherland  of  all  the  arts ",  and  the  "land  of  mcniory". 
One  poet  at  least  writes  definitely  of  "India's  memories".  It  is 
not  only  human  culture  that  is  ol<l — the  astronomy  of  Ghaldca, 
the  commerce  of  Phoenicia,  the  pyramids  and  hieroglyphics  of 
Egypt,  the  mythology  of  India — but  even  nature  herself  seems  to 


99.  Lines    Written   in    Wilford  Church-yard. 

100.  Thanatos. 

101.  Cliftov  Grove. 


S8  I'niii'r.sili/  of  Kansas  H iinnniislic  Studies 

im:ii,'iu;itioii  olii<M-  in  a  laiul  lumiaiily  oM.  One  reads  of  the  "old 
(Jaiiiies"',  [\\c  "«>1(1  iMipluates".  Hesiile  llie  elianii  of  the  merely 
remote,  in  spac*'  or  in  tinu-.  the  Romantie  poel  voieed  the  appeal 
of  tlu"  immeasurahle,  the  inaeeessihle,  tlie  unmastered.  That 
element  of  the  forndess  and  the  void  in  Oriental  life  which  so 
offended  Foster  was  often  a  source  of  delight  to  Shelley,  to  Byron, 
anil  to  many  lesser  poets.  To  note  the  diction  aj^ain,  such  words 
as  vast,  vasty,  enormous,  sumless,  horde,  cloud,  (for  a  group  of 
people),  host,  millions,  are  frequent.  Among  the  Miltonic  nega- 
tives ciuiracteristic  of  this  mootl  are  "impenetrable",  "immeas- 
ureahle",  "invisible",  "insatiate".  It  is  largely  this  aspect  of  the 
Romantic  Movement  which  finds  such  severe  condemnation  in 
Paul  Elmer  More.  His  judgment  is  that  "Romanticism  is  a 
radical  confusion  of  the  unlimited  desires  and  the  infinite  inner 
check.  In  its  essential  manifestation  it  is  thus  a  morbid  and 
restless  intensification  of  the  personal  emotions  ".^"^ 

There  was  a  charm  for  many  English  imaginations  in  the  very 
horrors,  the  very  evils,  strange  and  brutal  and  vast,  which  a 
knowledge  of  the  East  revealed.  If  one  chooses  to  select  such 
matters  from  English  Oriental  verse  and  combine  them,  one  may 
witness  a  weird  procession  of  terrible  images.  There  pass  before 
the  reader,  mutes  and  eunuchs,  captives  and  crowds  of  half-naked 
slaves;  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  crushing  human  bodies  beneath  it: 

"Beneath  the  creaking  axle  the  red  flood 
Gushes  unceasing;  scattered  on  the  stones 
Lie  crushed  and  mangled  bones; 
Through  slaughter  and  through  l)lood 

The  chariot  of  the  god — the  dark  god — reels; 
And  laughter — shrill  unnatural  laughter — rings 
As  each  mad  victim  springs 
To  meet  the  murderous  wheels.  "^^^ 

In  the  background  are  seen  the  ugly  form  of  the  poison-tree,  the 
bodies  of  those  who  died  from  thirst  in  the  desert,  and  a  swarm  of 

"Afric's  black,  lascivious,  slothful  breed."'"'* 

The  scene  changes  to  the  abodes  of  evil  beyond  death,  and  amid 
terrifying  lights,  an  infernal  storm  of  meteors  and  hailstones,  the 


102.  The  Drift  of  Rofnanticism;  p.  270. 

103.  Praed:     Ilindostan. 

104.  Young:     Imperium  Pelaoi;  Strain  V. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  89 

stench  of  sulphurous  clouds  and  the  din  of  lash  and  hammer,  rises 
the  vague,  malignant  form  of  Azyoruca,  with  her  thousand  grasp- 
ing arms.^"^ 

There  is,  according  to  Ruskin,  "a  strange  connection  between 
the  reinless  play  of  the  imagination,  and  a  sense  of  the  presence 
of  evil."^**^  "  Southern  Asia,  in  general ",  wrote  De  Quincey  in  his 
Con/emon 5,  "is  the  seat  of  awful  images  and  associations".  Not 
only  the  terrors  of  Asia,  but  the  African  crocodile,  and  the  Malay, 
affecting  the  abnormal  dreams  of  De  Quincey,  affected  English 
literature.  Perhaps  nothing  in  the  verse  of  our  period  can  rival 
his  prose  imagery  of  Oriental  horrors. 

These  terrors  appear  even  in  the  aesthetic  imagination  of  Keats. 
In  Isabella  the  ears  of  the  Ceylon  pearl  diver  "gushed  blood". 
More  characteristic,  however,  for  this  poet,  is  such  a  mingling  of 
the  awful  with  the  beautiful  as  one  finds  in  these  lines  from  The 
Cap  and  Bells  (stanza  44) : 

"She  was  born  at  midnight  in  an  Indian  wild; 
Her  mother's  screams  with  the  striped  tiger's  blent. 
While  the  torch-bearing  slaves  a  halloo  sent 
Into  the  jungles;  and  her  palanquin. 
Rested  amid  the  desert's  dreariment,"  etc. 

The  name  of  Keats  suggests  another  phase  of  Oriental  verse; 
that  concerned  with  the  luxury  of  the  senses.  In  Keats  himself 
one  may  find  such  passages  as  these : 

"Manna  and  dates,  in  argosy  transferred 
From  Fez;  and  spiced  dainties,  every  one. 
From  silken  Samarcand  to  cedared  Lebanon.  "^°^ 

"I  saw  Osirian  Egypt  kneel  adown 
Before  the  vine-wreath  crown! 
I  saw  parched  Abyssinia  rouse  and  sing 
To  the  silver  cymbals'  ring! 
I  saw  the  whelming  vintage  hotly  pierce 
Old  Tartary  the  fierce! 
The  kings  of  Ind  their  jewel-sceptres  vail 
And  from  their  treasures  scatter  pearled  hail."^"* 

The  delight  of  the  senses  dominates  most  of  the  Oriental  flower 


105.  The  Curse  of  Kehama;  Canto  XXIII. 

106.  Modern  Painters;  Part  IV,  Chapter  6. 

107.  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes;  stanza  30. 

108.  Enilyntion;  Book  IV. 


<fO  i'niirrsity  of  Katumjt  Humanistic  Studies 

passaj^^s.  fruit  passaf^es,  and  jewel  passages.  There  is  appeal  to 
the  sense  of  taste  in  the  frequent  mention  of  cinnamon,  cloves, 
i-t)fTtH\  and  Persian  w  in<'s.  For  the  sense  of  touch  there  are  silken 
pinnents.  soft  ru^'s,  an«l  the  iiard  j)olished  surfaces  of  <i;ems. 
Sounds  range  from  the  tinkle  of  lutes  to  the  war-shouts  of  Moslem 
armies.  For  scents  there  are  the  delicate  perfumes  of  the  rose, 
and  of  frankincense,  the  odors  borne  by  winds  that  i)ass  by  Arabian 
jiroves  or  the  cedars  of  J>ebanon,  and  the  pungent  odors  from  the 
animals  of  the  jungle.  In  the  diction  of  Sir  William  Jones  the 
adjectives  "golden",  "silver",  and  "silken"  are  in  steady  service. 
His  ct)lor  vocabulary  includes  such  words  as  "crimson  ",  "saffron  ", 
and  "  roseate".  He  is  fond  of  all  that  dazzles,  or  glows,  or  gleams, 
or  glitters,  or  sparkles,  or  blazes.  In  many  poets  one  reads  of  the 
wealth  of  the  mines  of  Golconda,  of  the  pearls  of  Ceylon  and  the 
gold  of  Ophir,  of  costly  copies  of  the  Koran,  of  richly  decorated 
armor,  of  luxurious  temj)les  and  palaces.  These  values  from  the 
Orient  are  not  new  or  newly  discovered  in  our  period.  Langhorne 
writes  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  "This  beautiful  and  luxuriant 
marriage  pastoral  of  Solomon,  is  the  only  perfect  form  of  the  Ori- 
ental eclogue  that  has  survived  the  ruins  of  time  ",  etc.^"^  Medieval 
literature  had  its  Oriental  luxury  as  well  as  its  asceticism.  The 
Virgin  Mary  is  praised  in  extravagant  terms  of  the  senses  in  some 
of  the  English  religious  dramas.  According  to  the  Minnesinger 
Konrad  of  ^Yurzburg,  she  was  "exalted  like  the  cypress  in  Zion 
and  the  cedar  on  Lebanon;  .  .  .  her  sweet  fragrance  is  pleasanter 
than  balsam  and  musk".""  This  note  of  sensuous  and  often  un- 
restrained luxury,  sometimes  passing  into  a  "barbaric  splendor", 
was  more  or  less  offensive  not  oidy  to  the  Puritan,  but  also  to  the 
classicist.  Perhaps  there  is  no  other  note  so  distinctive  of  Orien- 
talism in  English  poetry,  if  Orientalism  is  considered  as  a  style, 
and  not  as  a  "field". 

The  humanitarian  interest  of  the  early  Nineteenth  Century 
found  satisfaction  in  three  closely  related  Orientalized  themes — 
the  hatred  of  tyranny,  the  love  of  liberty,  and  the  spirit  of  service. 
The  English  poets  often  considered  the  East  as  a  region  of  slavery. 
Superstition  and  the  cruelty  of  raonarchs  oppressed  all  those  weak 
in  mind  or  body.  The  submission  of  Greece  to  the  Turk  was  not 
only  a  sentimental  subject,  but  a  practical,  political,  and  ethical 


109.  Edition  of  Collins  citc-d  In  Appendix;  p.  129. 

110.  See  Hosnaer;  p.  101. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  91 

interest.  If  Byron  died  for  the  cause  of  freedom,  so,  in  other  ways, 
did  some  of  the  reformers  and  the  servants  of  the  Church.  Poems 
and  passages  on  the  horrors  of  the  slave-trade  are  numerous,  and 
written  with  enthusiasm  for  reform.  The  tributes  to  Bishop 
Heber  and  Bishop  Middleton  seem  inspired  by  genuine  affection 
and  approval.    Of  the  work  of  Middleton  in  India,  Praed  writes, 

"Soon,  at  his  bidding.  Love,  the  beauteous  child. 
Returned;  rich  plenty  blessed  the  land's  increase; 
Staid  Order,  gentle  Peace, 
Twin-born  of  Justice,  smiled.""^ 

In  many  poets  the  love  of  liberty  was  stronger  than  national 
patriotism.  In  The  Warning  Voice  Southey  claims  that  it  was 
England  who  began  the  redemption  of  Africa,  who  brought  "peace 
and  equity"  to  India;  but  Campbell  does  not  hesitate  to  give 
severe  criticism  of  England's  managen:ent  in  India.  The  tenth 
avatar  of  Brama  will  occur, 

"To  pour  redress  on  India's  injured  realm.""* 

Again,  Coleridge,  in  France:  An  Ode,  expresses  love  for  England 
only  in  so  far  as  she  stood  for  liberty  among  all  peoples.  In  an 
early  poem,  written  within  our  period,  Tennyson  gives  in  his 
gentle  manner  a  clear  expression  of  the  same  spirit.  If  England 
should  cease  to  be  the  guardian  of  the  nations,  then, 

"  Tho'  Power  should  make  from  land  to  land 
The  name  of  Britain  trebly  great — 
Tho'  every  channel  of  the  State 
Should  fill  and  choke  with  golden  sand — 

Yet  waft  me  from  the  harbor-mouth. 
Wild  wind!    I  seek  a  warmer  sky. 
And  I  will  see  before  I  die 
The  palms  and  temples  of  the  South.""' 

For  him  there  was  no  need.  The  palms  and  temples  of  the  South 
remained  mere  delights  of  imagination.  He  lived  to  write  with 
pride,  not  even  yet  without  the  warning  note  of  one  who  loved 
liberty  before  country,  of 


111.  Hindostan. 

112.  The  Pleasurfx  of  Hope;  Part  1. 

11.3.      '•  You  ask  UK  why,  though  ill  nt  case.' 


g2  Utiircrsitij  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 

■'Our  ocean-eiiipire  with  her  boundless  homes 
For  ever-broadening  England,  and  her  throne 
In  our  vast  Orient  .  .  .""* 


114.     The  Idylls  of  the  King:  To  the  Queen. 


APPENDIX 

I.  Bibliographical  Notes 
A.  Poems  and  Passages 

The  following  pages  gives  the  chief  data  on  which  this  study  is 
based.  All  the  verse  for  which  titles  are  given  has  been  examined, 
unless  the  title  is  enclosed  in  brackets.  No  attempt  has  been 
made  to  cover  the  entire  field  of  English  verse  between  1740  and 
1840.  Of  the  dramas,  particularly,  only  a  few  have  been  reviewed. 
Though  Miss  Conant's  work  is  mainly  concerned  with  prose,  she 
names  a  few  poems  not  accessible  for  this  study.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that  sufficient  verse  has  been  examined  to  justify  the 
arrangement,  the  proportions,  and  the  general  interpretation  of 
the  foregoing  chapters.  Much  material  has  been  gathered  which 
could  not  be  used  in  the  present  paper. 

The  arrangement  in  the  pages  below  is  as  follows : 

Under  "I"  are  placed  bibliographical  references  sufficient  to 
indicate  the  sources. 

Under  "II"  are  placed  such  poems  as  are  considered  Oriental. 
Classification  is  not  as  simple  as  it  might  seem.  In  addition  to 
poems  clearly  Oriental,  it  has  been  the  intention  to  include  all 
those  which  deal,  as  wholes,  with  the  gypsy,  and  the  Westerner  in 
the  Orient;  and  those  in  which  the  chief  imagery  is  Eastern,  what- 
ever the  theme.  Poems  that  are  merely  "Oriental"  in  style,  in 
the  sense  noted  above  on  page  7  are  not  included,  except  in  a 
few  examples. 

In  Kirke  White's  Sonnet  IX,  the  theme  is  religious,  but  the 
chief  imagery  is  drawn  from  the  East.  In  Procter's  Amelia  Went- 
worth,  the  situation  concerns  the  departure  of  "(Charles"  for 
India,  but  the  spirit  of  the  poem  is  English,  as  are  the  characters. 
The  Fatal  Curiosity  has  important  Oriental  motivation,  but  the 
play  as  a  whole  is  famous  as  an  early  P^nglish  don)cstic  tragedy. 

93 


f>v  rtiirersity  of  Katina.'i  llutnani»tic  Stvdies 

The  value  of  tlie  presoiil  stiuly.  it  is  hoped,  lies  in  its  emphasis 
on  the  wide  tiiirusion  of  Oriental  taste  tluring  the  period  under 
discussion.  Much  remains  to  he  done  in  English  Orientalism,  even 
fi»r  the  Kigiiteenth  Century.  We  should  have  more  critical 
detiiiitions,  and  more  adeipiate  bibliographical  and  chronological 
surveys. 

I'nder  "HI"  are  noted  poems  with  passages  which  .seem  worthy 
of  recortl.  The  data  given  for  some  of  the  minor  poets  are  more 
complete  than  those  for  .some  of  the  masters. 

I'nder  "IV"  have  been  placed  such  notes  as  did  not  seem  to 
belong  under  the  other  numbers. 

Mark  Akenside,  1721-1770. 
1.    Complete  Poetical  Works.    Knight  and  Son,  London,  n.  d. 
III.    The  Pleasures  of  the  Imagination. 

Hook  II. — "Doth  virtue  deign  to  inhabit"  sq. 
Book  III. — "To  Egypt  therefore"  sq. 
The  Virtuoso.— VI- VII. 

John  Armstrong,  1709-1779. 
I.    Poetical  Works  of  Armstrong,  Dyer,  and  Green.     With 
Memoirs    and    Critical    Dissertations.      The  Text  edited 
by  Charles  Cowden  Clarke.    Edinburgh,  1868. 
III.    The  .\rt  of  Preserving  Health. 

Book  II. — "  Girt  by  the  burning  zone, "  sq. 
— "Here  from  the  desert"  sq. 
— "WTiat  does  not  fade?"  sq. 
Imitations  of  Shakespeare. 
("Into  the  valleys.]    And  as  rude  hurricanes,"  sq. 
"The  glo.ssy  fleeces"  sq. 

Edwin  Atherstone,  1788-1872. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  II. 
II.    A  Dramatic  Sketch. 
(The  Fall  of  Nineveh.] 

Joanna  Bailue,  1762-1851. 
I.    Complete  Poetical  Works.     First  American  Edition. 
Philadelphia,  1852. 


Oahorne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  95 

II.    The  Bride. 

Constautine  Paleologus:    A  Tragedy. 
Lord  John  of  the  East. 
Sir  Maurice:  a  Ballad. 
III.    T^e  Martyr. — Orceres,  a  Parthian  prince,  is  an  important 
character. 
William  Wallace.— XCI. 

Anna  Letitia  Barballd,  1743-1825. 
I.    Poems  in  Frost,  1838. 
III.    Hymn  to  Content. — Stanza  6, 

Very  slight  touches  in  other  poems. 

Richard  Harris  Barham,  1788-1845. 
I.    Ingoldsby  Legends.    London.  (1907.) 
II.    The  Ingoldsby  Penance. 
III.   The  Auto-da-Fe. 
The  Cenotaph. 
The  Old  Woman  Clothed  in  Gray. 

William  Barnes,  1801-1886. 
I.    Select  Poems  Chosen  and  Edited  by  Thomas  Hardy.    Ix)n- 
don,  1908. 

James  Beattie,  1735-1803. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     London,  n.  d.    Aldine  Poets. 

III.  The  Battle  of  the  Pygmies  and  Cranes. — Passim. 
The  Minstrel.— Book  I,  59. 

IV.  In  a  note  to  his  translation  of  the  fourth  eclogue  of  \'ergil, 
Beattie  speaks  of  the  "resemblance  it  bears  in  many  places 
to  the  Oriental  manner". 

Thomas  Lovell  Beddoes,  1803-1849. 
I.    Poetical   Works.      Edited,   with   a    Memoir,   by   Edmund 
Gosse.     London,  1890.     Two  vols.     The  Temple  Library. 
II.    The  Last  Man; — A  Crocodile. 

The  Romance  of  the  Lily. 
III.    Death's  Jest-Book;  or  The  Fool's  Tragedy. 
Act  I. — Scenes  2-4. 


96  i'nivcrdtity  of  Kansas  Iluutanistiv  Studies 

Act  III.— Scene  I. 

Scene  3. — Song  by  Isbrand;  and  much  of  the  scene. 
Act  l\. — Scene  4. — "Harpagus,  hast  thou  salt"  sq. 

— Ziba:  "Come;  we'll  struggle,"  sq. 
Act    V. — Scene  4. — Ziba:  "Here's  wine  of  Egypt,"  sq. 
And  all  passages  in  which  "Ziba;  an  Egyptian  slave" 
appears. 
The  Second  Brother. — Touches;  e.  (/.,  in  III,  1. 
Torrismond;  I,  2 — "This  wine  was  pressed"  sq. ;  and  'passim, 
IV.    Beddoes  has  little  genuine  Orientalism,  except  as  noted 
above,  but  much  of  his  verse  is  colored  by  a  mystical, 
exotic  quality  which  is  somewhat  allied  with  Oriental  taste, 
as  the  Romantic  poets  expressed  it. 

Thoal^s  Blacklock,  1721-1791. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 
IV.    An  Ode  to  a  Young  Gentleman  Bound  for  Guinea  is  perhaps 
about  as  near  as  this  poet  approaches  to  an  Oriental  poem. 

Robert  Bl.ur,  1699-1746. 

I.    Poetical  Works    of    Beattie,    Blair,    and    Falconer.     With 
Lives,    etc.,    by    the  Rev.  George    Gilfillan.     Edinburgh, 
London,  and  Dublin,  1854. 
III.    The  Grave. — "The  tapering  pyramid, "  sq. 

William  Blake,  1757-1828. 

I.    Poetical  Works.    Edited  and  Annotated  by  Edwin  J.  Ellis. 
London,  1906.    Two.  vols. 
II.    The  Song  of  Los. 
Africa. 
Asia. 
The  Little  Black  Boy. 
The  Tiger. 
III.    Jerusalem. 

Chapter  III. — "Egypt  is  the  eight  steps  within, "  sq.  (58) 
— "Europe  and  Asia  and  Africa  and  Amer- 
ica," sq. 
And  numerous  brief  passages. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  97 

Blake's  peculiar  symbolical  treatment  of  the  Orient  gives 
him  a  unique  place  among  the  Oriental  poets.  One  passage 
in  Jerusalem,  however,  is  a  simple  geographical  list  of  coun- 
tries. 


Robert  Bloomfield,  1766-1823. 
I.    The  Farmer's  Boy.    In  Frost,  1838. 

William  Lisle  Bowles,  1762-1852. 

I.    Poetical  Works.     With  Memoir,  etc.,  by  the  Rev.  George 
GilfiUan.     Edinburgh,  London,  and  Dubhn,  1855.     Two 
vols. 
n.    Abba  Thule's  Lament  for  His  Son  Prince  Le  Boo. 
The  Battle  of  the  Nile. 
The  Dying  Slave. 
The  Egyptian  Tomb. 
The  Gipsy's  Tent. 
The  Harp  of  Hoel. 
The  Last  Song  of  Camoens. 
Song  of  the  Cid. 
m.    BanwellHill. 

Part   First. — ["The   dread   event   they   speak.]     What 

monuments"  sq. 

Part  Second. — "Hosannah  to  the  car  of  light!"  sq. 
The  Grave  of  Howard. — "Teach  to  the  roving  Tartar's 
savage  clan"  sq. 

Hope:    An  Allegorical  Sketch. — Stanzas  5  and  18. 
Saint  John  in  Patmos.     Part  Second. — Stranger:     "Was 
not  the  hand"  sq. 

Saint  Michael's  Mount. — "Thee  the  Phoenician,"  sq. 
The  Spirit  of  Discovery  by  Sea. 

Book  I. — "  He  said ;  and  up  to  the  unclouded  height"  sq. 

A  good  deal  in  Books  II- V. 
The  Spirit  of  Navigation. 

The  Sylph  of  Summer.— ["Attendant  on  their  niarch:— ] 
the  wild  Simoom, "  sq. 
IV.    For  a  study  of  the  heavier  type  of  reflective  and  didactic 
verse  dealing  with  the  Orient,  Bowles  oflFers  a  rather  sur- 
prising amount  of  material. 


y^*  rnivernitij  of  Kuusns  llumauisiic  Shidie.f 

John  Bowkinc;,  171H-1872. 
1.    Matins  aiul  Ves|K'rs:    Willi  llyinns  and  Occasional  Devo- 
tional Pieces.     Boston,  1844. 
II.    [Russian  Anth()l(»gy.] 

[Servian  Popular  Poetry.] 
[Specimens  of  the  Polish  Poets.] 
IV.    A  brief  passage  on  the  mirage  of  Saliara  in  Matins  and 
Vespers. — See  Dictiimary  of  yaiionul  liiography. 

Samuel  Boyse,  1708-1749. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIV. 
II.    Love  and  Majesty. 
III.    ToSemanthe:    Ode. — Last  stanza. 

The  Triumphs  of  Nature. — "In  which, of  form  Chinese,  "«gf. 
The  Vision  of  Patience:  An  Allegorical  poem. — Genera! 
theme,  and  stanza  24. 

Henhy  Brooke,  1706-1783. 
I.    Gustavus  Vasa.    In  Inchbald's  British  Theatre,  vol.  VII. 

Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 
II.    Constantia;  or  The  Man  of  Law's  Tale.    Modernized  from 
Chaucer. 

Jerusalem  Delivered.     (Translation  of  Books  I-III.) 
III.    Universal  Beauty.    Book  IV. — "Now  hurried  on  Sarmatian 
tempests  roll;"  sq. 

John  Brown,  1715-1766 
I.    Barbarossa.    In  Inchbald's  British  Theatre,  vol.  XV. 
II.    The  scene  of  this  play  is  in  Algiers.    Some  Oriental  char- 
acters and  diction. 

Is.^lAC  Hawkins  Browne,  1705-1760. 
I.    De  Animi  Immortalitate.    In  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII,  p.  622. 
III.    Liber  Primus. ^"Quid  memorem  fluctu"    sq. 

Robert  Burns,  1759-1786. 
I.    Works.     Edited  by  Wm.  Scott  Douglas.     London,  1891. 
Five  vols. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Thenie  $9 

II.   TheAuldMan. 

*'One  Queen  Artemisia." 

Evan  Banks. 
IV.   Burns  states  that  The  Auld  Man  was  written  for  an  "East 

Indian   air".      There   are  fragmentary   touches   in   other 

poems  than  those  named. 

John  Byrom,  1691-1763. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XV. 

II.    Epistle  to  J.  Bl.  k.  n.,  Esq.    Occasioned  by  a  Dispute  Con- 
cerning the  Food  of  John  the  Baptist. 
[II.    The  Country  Fellows  and  the  Ass:    Spoken  on  the  Same 

Occasion. — "In  some  tamed  elephants"  sq. 
IV.   The  Epistle  named  above  is  one  of  the  numerous  Biblical 
poems  of  the  period  with  some  coloring  which  might  be 
called  Oriental;  though  in  general  it  is  dry  and  didactic. 

George  Gordon,  Lord  Byron,  1788-1824. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    Edited,  with  a  Memoir,  by  Ernest  Hartley 

Coleridge.    London,  1905. 
II.   The  Bride  of  Abydos:    A  Turkish  Tale. 
The  Chain  I  Gave:    From  the  Turkish. 
Childe  Harold's  Pilgrimage. — Canto  II. 
The  Corsair:    A  Tale. 
Don  Juan. — Chiefly  Cantos  II-X. 
The  Giaour:  A  Fragment  of  a  Turkish  Tale. 
Hebrew  Melodies. 

The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib. 

On  Jordan's  Banks. 

The  Wild  Gazelle. 
The  Island;  or,  Christian  and  His  Comrades. 
Lara :  A  Tale. 

Maid  of  Athens,  Ere  We  Part. 
On  This  Day  I  Complete  My  Thirty-Sixth  Year. 
Sardanapalus :    A  Tragedy. 
The  Siege  of  Corinth. 

Stanzas  Composed  During  a  Thunder  Storm. 
Stanzas:    To  a  Hindoo  Air. 

Stanzas  Written  in  Passing  the  Ambracian  Gulf. 
To  Eliza. 


/()(>  Vfiirersitij  of  A'd/j.sv/.s'  IJumnniittic  Studies 

Translati«>ii  of  a  Romaic  Ix)ve  Song. 

Translati(»n  of  the  Famous  Greek  War-Song. 

Translatit)!!  of  tlie  Romaic  Song,  etc. 

A  Very  Mournful  Ballad  on  the  Siege  and  Conquest  of 

AUiama. 

Written  after  Swimming  from  Sestos  to  Abydos. 

III.  Ode  on  Venice.— III. 

Brief  passages  or  touches  in  many  other  poems. 

IV.  There  is  what  might  be  considered  Oriental  coloring  in  Cain 
and  in  Heaven  and  Earth. 

Richard  Owen  Cambridge,  1717-1802. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 
II.    TheFakeer:    A  Tale. 

III.  Learning:  A  Dialogue  between  Dick  and  Ned. — "There, 
Ned,  a  Brahmin  may  you  see"  sq. 

The  Scribleriad. — Book  I. 

IV.  Cambridge  was  interested  in  the  study  of  East  Indian  affairs. 

Thomas  Campbell,  1777-1844. 
I.    Complete  Poetical  Works.    Edited  by  J.  Logic  Robertson. 

Oxford  University  Press,  1907. 
II.    The  Dead  Eagle. 

Epistle  from  Algiers  to  Horace  Smith. 

Lines  on  the  Departure  of  Emigrants  for  New  South  Wales. 
Lines  [on]  the  Day  of  Victory  in  Egypt,  1809. 
Lines  on  Poland. 
The  Power  of  Russia. 
The  Ritter  Bann. 

Song  of  the  Colonists  Departing  for  New  Zealand. 
Song  of  the  Greeks. 
Stanzas  on  the  Battle  of  Navarino. 
The  Turkish  Lady. 
The  Wounded  Hussar. 
III.    The  Pleasures  of  Hope.    Parti. — "In  Libyan  groves, "  to 
the  end. 

George  Canning,  1770-1827. 
I.    Poems  in  Morley :    Parodies  and  Other  Burlesque  Pieces. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  101 

II.    The  Progress  of  Man.    Twenty-third  Canto.    On  Marriage 

(With  Ellis.) 
IV.    See  also  under  Frere, 

William  Carey,  1761-1834. 
IV.    A  translation  of  part  of  the  Ramayuna  by  Carey  and  Joshua 
Marshman  is  reviewed  by  Foster.  (See  below,  p.  132,  Foster, 
Sanscrit  Literature.)     Carey  is  credited  with  an  edition  of 
the  Ramayuna  in  three  volumes,  1806-1810. 

Henry  Francis  Cary,  1792-1844. 
II.    [Ode  to  General  Kosciusko.] 

James  Cawthorn,  1719-1761. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIV. 

III.  The  Antiquarians :  A  Tale. 

— "Asserted  that  it  came  from  Tyre:"  sq. 

— "It  came!  says  he,"  sq. 
The  Birth  and  Education  of  Genius:    A  Tale. — "But,  such 
the  fate,"  sq. 

Life  Unhappy  because  We  Use  it  Improperly:     A  Moral 
Essay. — "Breathes  it  in  Ceylon's"  sq. 
Nobility :  A  Moral  Essay. — "  In  Turkey, "  sq.  And  passim. 
Of  Taste. — "Of  late,  'tis  true,"  sq. 

The  Vanity  of  Human  Enjoyments:    An  Ethic  Epistle. — 
"Tell  me,  O  visier!"  sq. 

IV.  The  passage  in  Of  Taste  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  period  on 
matters  Oriental  in  English  garden  and  parlor  ornament. 

Thomas  Chattekton,  1752-1770. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    Boston,  1879.    Two  vols,  in  one.    British 

Poets. 
II.    The  Death  of  Nicou :    An  African  Eclogue. 
Heccar  and  Gaira:    An  African  Eclogue. 
Narva  and  Mored :    An  African  Eclogue. 

III.  Englysh  Metamorphosis. — I,  1. 

IV.  The  Oriental  element  in  Chatterton  is  interesting  by  way 
of  contrast  with  the  work  for  which  he  is  famous.  It  is 
practically  limited  to  the  Eclogues. 


fOf  VtiirersHy  of  Kotisas  Humani.iiic  Studies 

Charlks  Chi  rchill,  1731-1764. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     Witli  Memoir,  etc.,  by  the  Rev,  George 

(iilfillan.     Ktlinlmrgli,  Ixnidon,  ami  Dublin,  1855. 
11.    The  Farewell. 
III.    The  Ghost. 

Hook  I. — "At  its  first  rise,"  sq. 
Book  III. — "  'Sure  as  that  cane, "  sq. 
Gotham. — "But  whither  do  these  grave  reflections "  ^gf. 
The  Times. — "Nor  stop  we  here"  sq. 

Hartley  Coleridge,  1796-1849. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  III. 
II.    Address  to  Certain  Gold  Pishes. 

Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  1772-1834. 
I.    Complete  Poetical  Works.    Edited  by  Ernest  Hartley  Col- 
eridge.   The  Clarendon  Press,  1912.    Two  vols. 
II.    Kubla  Khan. 

I.«wti,  or  the  Circassian  Tx)ve-Chaunt. 
Remorse:    A  Tragedy. 

III.  The  Destiny  of  Nations :  A  Vision. — "As  ere  from  Lieule- 
Oaive's  vapoury  head"  sq. 

Religious  Musings. — "O  fiends  of  superstition!"  sq. 
— "Fitliest  depictured  "«g. 

IV.  The  Bohemian  element  in  The  Piccolomini  may  be  noted. 
There  are  a  few  very  slight  Oriental  touches — by  Coleridge 
and  Southey — in  The  Fall  of  Robespierre. 

William  Collins,  1721-1759. 

I.  Poetical  Works.    With  .  .  .  Biographical  and  Critical  Notes 
by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Dyce.    London,  1827. 

II.  Oriental  Eclogues. 

Selim;    or.  The  Shepherd's  Moral. 
Hassan;  or.  The  Camel-driver. 
Abra;  or,  The  Georgian  Sultana. 
Agib  and  Secander;  or.  The  Fugitives. 
IV.    The  Oriental  element  in  Collins  is  of  interest  in  contrast 
with  the  predominant  Celtic  and  Grecian  elements. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  103 

George  Colman  the  Younger,  1762-1836. 
I.    The  Iron  C'hest.    In  Inchbald's  British  Theatre,  vol.   XXI. 
The  Mountaineers.    In  the  same  vol. 
III.    The  Mountaineers. — Moorish  element  passim. 

John  Gilbert  Cooper,  1723-1769. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XV. 

II.    Ver-Vert;  or.  The  Nunnery  Parrot. — Theme,  and  touches 
passim. 

III.  The  Power  of  Harmony. — Book  I,  passim. 

IV.  Slight  touches  in  some  other  poems. 

Nathaniel  Cotton,  1705-1788. 
I,    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 

11.    An  Invocation  of  Happiness:    After  the  Oriental  Manner 
of  Speech. 

III.  Visions  in  Verse;  for  the  Entertainment  and  Instruction  of 
Younger  Minds.  Pleasure.  Vision  II. — "Shall  Siam's  ele- 
phant supply"  sq. 

IV.  Oriental  diction  passim  in  other  poems. 

William  Cowpek,  1731-1800. 
I.    Works.    Comprising  his  Poems,  Correspondence,  and  Trans- 
lations.   With  a  Life  of  the  xVuthor  by  the  Editor,  Robert 
Southey.     London,  1854.     Eight  vols.    Bohn's  Standard 
Library.    Verse  in  vols.  V  and  VI. 

Unpublished  and  Uncollected  Poems.    Edited  by  Thomas 
Wright.    London,  1900.    Cameo  Series. 
II.    Epigram.    (Printed  in  the  Northampton  Mercury.) 

The  Love  of  the  World  Rei)roved;  or  Hypocrisy  Detected. 
The  Morning  Dream. 
The  Negro's  Complaint. 
Pity  for  Poor  Africans. 

Reciprocal  Kindness  the  Primary  Law  of  Nature.    (Trans- 
lated from  'N'incent  Bourne.) 
Sonnet  to  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

Sweet  Meat  has  Sour  Sauce;  or,  The  Slave-Trader  in  the 
Dumps. 
III.    Adam:    A  Sacred  Drama.    Translated  from  the  Italian  <»f 
Gio.  Battista  Andreini.— This  has  pa.ssages  rather  richly 


JO^  I'nirmiii!/  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Stvdies 

colored,    which    ini^ht   he  considered  "Oriental"  in  style. 
See  especially.  11.  (t;  ^',  1  and  5. 

Anti   rhely})hth(M-a.     A  Tale,  in  Verse. — '"Ye  fair  Circas- 
sians" sq. 

Charity. — "When  Cook — lamented"  sq. 
Expostulation. — "Hast  thou,  though  suckled  at  fair  Free- 
dom's breast,"  sq. 

Montes  Glaciales,  in  Oceano  Germanico  Natantes. 
On  Mrs.  Montagu's  Feather  Hangings. 
On  the  Ice  Islands  seen  Floating  in  the  German  Ocean. 
On  the  Platonic  Idea,  as  It  Was  Understood  by  Aristotle. 
The  Task. 

Books  I,  II,  III,  and  V. — Touches. 

Book  VI. — "Nebaioth,  and  the  flocks  of  Kedar"  sq. 
IV.  Genuine  Orientalism  is  very  rare  in  Cowper.  His  human- 
itarian interest  produced  a  number  of  poems  on  slavery, 
listed  above.  Many  other  poems  contain  slight  fragments 
of  Oriental  diction  or  reference;  among  them  Ati  Epistle  to 
Joseph  Hill,  Esq.,  The  Critics  Chastised,  In  a  Letter  to  the 
Same  (C.  P.,  Esq.),  The  Progress  of  Error,  The  Retired  Cat, 
Table  Talk,  Translations  of  the  Latin  and  Italian  Poems  of 
Milton,  and  Truth. 

George  Crabbe,  1754-1832. 
I.    Poetical  W^orks.    With  His  Letters  and  Journals,  and  His 

Life,  by  His  Son.    London,  1834.    Eight  vols. 
II.    The  Hall  of  Justice. 

Woman. 
III.    The  Borough. 

Letter  IX. — "Lo!  where  on  that  huge  anchor"  sq. 
Letter  X. — "W^hen  Bruce,  that  dauntless  traveller, "  sq. 
The  Parish  Register. 

Part  III. — "A  Captain  thither,  rich  from  India  came, ''sq. 
Posthumous  Tales. 

Tale  I. — "But  there  were  fictions  wild"  sq. 
Tale  XIX.— "Arabian  Nights,  and  Persian  Tales,"  sq. 
Tales. 

Tale  X. — "And  there  a  Gipsy-tribe"  sq. 
Tale  XL — "  'Tis  thus  a  sanguine  reader"  bq. 
Tale  XVI.— "The  Caliph  Harun"  sq. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  106 

Tales  of  the  Hall. 

Book  IV.— '"Thou  hast  sailed  far,  dear  Brother,'"  sq. 
The  World  of  Dreams. — Stanzas  28-29. 

George  Croly,  1780-1860. 
I.    Poems  in  Frost,  1843. 
II.    On  the  Ruins  of  Mesolonghi. 

The  Song  of  Antar:  From  the  Arabic. 
III.    Illustrations  of  Napoleon. 

I .     Napoleon  at  St .  Helena . — ' 'That  Polar  snows "  sq. 

Richard  Cumberland,  1732-1811. 
I.    The  Carmelite.    In  Inchbald's  Modern  Theatre,  vol.  V. 
III.    On  the  Crusades  and  the  Saracen,  passim. 

George  Darley,  1795-1846. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  III. 
III.    Sylvia;  or.  The  May  Queen. — A  slight  touch  or  two. 

Erasmus  Darwin,  1731-1802. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    London,  1806.    Three  vols. 
III.    The  Economy  of  Vegetation. 

Canto  I. — "Pass,  where  with  palmy  plumes"  sq. 
Canto  II. — "Thus  caverned  round"  sq. 
Canto  III. — "Sailing  in  air,"  sq. 
Canto  IV. — "Sylphs!  your  bold  myriads"  sq. 
— "Pleased  shall  the  Sage,"  sq. 
— "So  from  his  shell"  sq. 
The  Loves  of  the  Plants. 

Canto  I. — "Where  Java's  isle, "  sq. 

Canto  II. — "Papyra,  throned  upon  the  bank  of  Nile,"«g. 

— "Two  Sister-Nymphs"  sq. 
Canto  III. — "So,  where  Palmyra"  sq. 
— "Where  seas  of  glass"  sq. 
— "  So  the  sad  mother  "  59. 
Canto  IV. — "Amphibious  Nymph,"  sq. 

— "So,  when  the  Nightingale"  sq. 
The  Origin  of  Society. 
Canto  I. — Touches. 
Canto  III.— "Where  Egypt's  pyramids"  sq. 


UHi  Univeritity  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Stvdies 

(\int(>  IV. — "IahI  by  Volition"  iq. 

— "So  when  Arabia's  Bird,"  sq. 

RoBEHT  D0D8LEY,  1703-1764. 
I.    Tocnis  in  Chalmers,  A'ol.  XV. 
II.    Rex  et   Pontifex. — The  chief  Orientalism  is  in   the  stage 
directions. 

Sir  Francis  Hastings  Doylf,  1810-1888. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  IV. 
II.    The  Mameluke  Charge. 
Mehreb  Khan. 
The  Private  of  the  Buffs. 
The  Red  Thread  of  Honour. 
IV.    These  poems  were  written  prior  to  1840,  according  to  the 
sketch  of  Doyle  in  Miles. 

John  Dyer,  1700-1758. 
I.    Poetical  Works  of  Armstrong,   Dj'er,  and  Green.     With 
Memoirs  and  Critical  Dissertations.     The  Text  edited  by 
Charles  Cowden  Clarke.    Edinburgh,  1868. 
HI.    The  Fleece. 

Book  II. — "The  glossy  fleeces  now  of  prime  esteem  "  sq. 
Book  III. — "Or  the  Cathayan's, "  sq. 
— "Far-distant  Thibet"  sq. 
Book  IV. — "See  the  dark  spirit  of  tyrannic  power"  sq. 
Passim  in  other  parts  of  the  poem. 
The  Ruins  of  Rome. — Passim. 

George  Ellis,  1753-1815. 
I.    Poems  in  Morley:    Parodies  and  Other  Burlesque  Pieces. 
II.    The  Duke  of  Benevento :    A  Tale. 
The  Power  of  Faith :    A  Tale. 

III.  Loves  of  the  Triangles. — "In  Africs  schools,"  sq. 
Ode  by  Nathaniel  Weaxall. — Largely  Orientalized. 

IV.  See  also  under  Frere. 

William  Falconer,  1732-1769. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    With  a  Memoir  by  John  Mitford.    Lon- 
don, 1895.    Aldine  Poets. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  W7 

II.  The   Shipwreck. 

IV.    This  poem  has  its  scenes  in  the  Eastern  Mediterranean 
region.    It  has  little  true  Oriental  style  or  subject. 

Francis  Fawkes,  1721-1777. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVI. 

III.  Claudian's  Old  Man. — One  couplet. 
Fragments  of  Menander. — A  few  touches. 
Mechanical  Solution  of  the  Propagation  of  Yawning. — 
Touches. 

Robert  Fergusson,  1750-1774. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     Edited  by  Robert  Ford.    Paisley,  1905. 

IV.  Fergusson  has  less  Oriental  element  than  Burns.    Perhaps 
Tea  is  about  as  near  as  he  comes  to  an  Oriental  poem. 

John  Hookam  Frere,  1769-1846. 
I.    Works  in  Verse  and  Prose.    Now  first  (^oHected.    With  a 
Memoir  by  His  Nephews,  W.  E.  and  Sir  Bartle  Frere.  Lon- 
don, 1872.    Two  vols. 

Poems  in  Morley:    Parodies  and  Other  Burlesque  Pieces. 
II.    Lines  on  the  Death  of  Richard  Edward  Frere. 
The  Slavery  of  Greece. 
Tablet  in  Royden  Church. 
Translations  from  the  Poem  of  the  Cid. 
Translation   of   a   Letter    (in   Oriental   Characters)    from 
Bobba-Dara-Adul-Phoola,  Dragoman  to  the  Expedition,  to 
Neek-Awl-Aretchid-Kooes,  Secretary  to  the  Tunisian  Em- 
bassy.— With  Canning,  Ellis,  and  Gifford  (?). 
III.    FAegy,  or  Dirge. — (With  Canning  and  Ellis.) 
Fragment  II. 
Hexameters. 

King  Arthur  and  His  Round  Table. 
Loves  of  the  Triangles.    (With  Canning  and  Ellis.) 

Richard  Glover,  1712-1785. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 

III.  The  Athenaid. — Passim. 
Leonidas. 

Book  III. — "Not  from  the  hundred  brazen  gatrs"  sq. 


XQS  I'nirt'rsity  of  Kufusas  Humanistic  Studies 

Hook  IV. — "The  noble  dames  of  Persia"  sq. 

— And  much  of  the  Book. 
Classical  Orientalism  throughout  the  poem. 
London ;  or,  The  Progress  of  Commerce. 
— "Beneath  the  Libyan  skies,"  sq. 
— "Now  solitude  and  silence"  sq. 
— "  ....  though  Mahomet  could  league"  sq. 

Oliver  Goldsmith,  1728-1774. 
L    Works.    Edited  by  J.  M.  W.  Gibbs.    London,  1894-1907. 

Five  vols.    Bohn's  Standard  Library. 
n.    Prologue  to  Zobeide. 

III.  The  Traveller. — "The  naked  negro,"  sq. 

IV.  Goldsmith's  Orientalism  is  chiefly  in  his  prose. 

James  Grahame,  1765-1811. 
I.    Poems  in  Frost,  1838. 

III.  The  Sabbath. — "  But  what  the  loss  of  country  "  sq. 

James  Grainger,  1723-1767. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIV. 
III.   The  Sugar-Cane. — Extensive  treatment  of  the  Negro,  and 
of  Africa  in  connection;  especially  in  Books  III  and  IV. 
Book  IV  opens  with  an  invocation  to  the  "  Genius  of  Afric." 

IV.  This  poem  may  be  considered  a  link  between  Oriental  and 
Occidental  interests,  based  on  real  history,  not  mere  fancy. 

Thomas  Gray,  1716-1771. 
I.    Works.    Edited  by  Edmund  Gosse.    London,  1884.    Four 
vols. 

III.  The  Alliance  of  Education  and  Government. — "Oft  o'er 
the  trembling  Nations"  sq. 

IV.  Very  slight  touches  in  Hymn  to  Ignorance  and  the  transla- 
tion from  Tasso.  It  is  interesting  to  recall  the  Occidental 
reference  in  the  Progress  of  Poesy. 

Arthur  H.  Hallam,  1811-1833. 
I.   Poems,  etc.    Edited  by  Richard  Le  Gallienne.    London  and 

New  York,  1893. 
II.    Timbuctoo. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  a7id  Theme  109 

III.  Meditative  Fragments,  VI. 
Scene  at  Rome. 

William  Hamilton,  1704-1754. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XV. 
II.    Mithridates. 

IV.  Touches  here  and  there  in  other  poems. 

Walter  Harte,  1709-1774. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVI. 

III.  Essay  on  Reason. — "Midst  Tartary's  deserts,"  sq. 
Eulogius;  or.  The  Charitable  Mason. 

The  Vision  of  Death. — "  Ynoisa,  Sanchia, "  sq. 

IV.  All  three  of  these  pieces  are  Divine  Poems;  Biblical  in  gen- 
eral tone. 

HallHartson,    (?)  -1773. 
I.   The  Countess  of  Salisbury:     A  Tragedy.     In  Inchbald's 
British  Theatre,  vol.  XVI. 
III.    Brief  passages  in  I,  1,  and  IV,  1. 

Robert  Stephen  Hawker,  1803-1875. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  III. 

III.  The  Quest  of  the  Sangreal. — Touches. 

Reginald  Heber,  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  1783-1826. 

IV.  Heber  is  intimately  connected  with  English  Orientalism, 
through  his  life  work,  and  through  his  prose.  For  parodies 
of  his  famous  missionary  hymn,  see  Hamilton :  Parodies,  etc. 

Felicia  Dorothea  Hemans,  1794-1835. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    London  and  New  York,  1891.    The  Im- 
perial Poets. 
II.    The  Abencerrage. 

Attraction  of  the  East. 

The  Bird's  Release. 

The  Burial  in  the  Desert. 

The  Caravan  in  the  Desert. 

Casablanca. 

The  Crusader's  Return. 


110  I  tiitt'rsity  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 

'I'lu-  ("nisiulor's  War-song. 

Tlio  Klowor  t)f  the  Dt-sort. 

An  Hour  of  Romunct'. 

'ri\t'  Iiuliaii  City. 

Ivan  the  C/ar. 

The  Last  Banqnet  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

The  Last  (^onstantine, 

>Lirius  among  the  Ruins  of  Carthage. 

Moorish  Bridal  Song. 

McH-trish  (iathering-Song. 

The  Mourner  for  the  Barmecides. 

Ode  on  the  Defeat  of  King  Sebastian  of  Portugal. 

The  Palm-tree. 

The  Rio  Verde  Song. 

Sebastian  of  Portugal:    A  Dramatic  Fragment. 

Song:    "Oh !  bear  me  to  the  groves  of  palm. " 

Song  Founded  upon  an  Arabian  Anecdote. 

Songs  of  the  Cid. 

The  Suliote  Mother. 

To  the  Memory  of  Heber. 

The  Traveller  at  the  Source  of  the  Niie. 

The  Wife  of  Asdrubal. 

The  Zegri  Maid. 
in.   The  Domestic  Affections. — Lo!  through  the  waste,"  sq. 

England  and  Spain. — "Hail,  Albion,  hail!  to  thee  has  fate 

denied"  sg. 

Modern  Greece.— Especially   XI,   XII,  XXXI-XXXVII, 

LXXXIII. 

A  Tale  of  the  Secret  Tribunal.    Part  II. — "For,  long  a  cap- 
tive" sq. 
IV.    Mrs.  Hemans  is  a  prominent  Oriental  poet,  by  virtue  of  the 

number  of  her  poems  if  not  by  virtue  of  quality.    She  prob- 
ably expresses  as  fully  as  any  minor  poet  of  the  period  the 

sentimental  values  found  in  contemplation  of  the  Moors 

and  the  Crusader,  the  pathetic  appeal  of  the  desert,  and 

some  other  themes.    Oriental  words  and  phrases  are  scat- 
tered through  many  poems  not  listed  above. 

Aahon  Hill,  1685-1750. 
II.    fDaraxes.l 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theine  m 

IV.    For  comment  on  this  oi>eratic  piece,  see  Dorothy  Brewster: 
Aaron  Hill,  and  Jeannette  Marks:  Kngliah  Pastoral  Drama. 

James  Hogg,  1770-1835. 
I.    Works  of  the  Ettrick  Shepherd.    A  New  Edition.   With  a 
Memoir  of  the  Author  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thomson.  Lon- 
don, Glasgow,  and  Edinburgh,  1866.    Two  vols. 
II.    Arabian  Song. 

The  Gypsies. 
III.    CaryO'Kean. 

The  Curse  of  the  Laureate. — Stanzas  5  and  8. 

The  Descent  of  Love. 

The  Field  of  Waterloo. 

Sacred  Melodies. — Especially  the  Rose  of  Sharon. 

Wallace. — One  couplet. 

John  Home,  1722-1808. 
I.    Douglass:    A  Tragedy.    In  Inchhiild's  British  Theatre,  vol. 
XVL 
III.    IV,  3.— "Small  is  the  skill"  sq. 

Thomas  Hood,  1798-1845. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     Boston,  1880.    Five  vols.  British  Poets. 
II.    Address  to  Mr.  Cross,  of  Exeter  ('hange,  on  the  Death  of 
the  Elephant. 
The  Broken  Dish. 
The   China-Mender. 
I'm  Going  to  Bombay. 
The  Kangaroos :    A  Fable. 
Lines  to  a  liady  on  her  Departure  for  India. 
The  Monkey-Martyr:    A  Fable. 
Ode  to  the  Cameleopard. 
Poem  from  the  Polish. 

Remonstratory  Ode  from  the  Elephant  at  Exeter  Change. 
The  Stag-eyed  Lady :    A  Moorish  Tale. 
A  True  Story.    ("Whoe'er  has  seen. ") 
III.    Miss  Kilmansegg. — Slight  touches  passim. 

JoHxV  HooLE,  1727-1803. 
I.    Translation  of  Ariosto's  Orlando  Furin.so.      In   Clialmers, 
vol.  XXI. 


Jig  Vnitrrsity  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 

Traiislati(Mi  of  Tasso's  Jerusalem  Delivered.  In  the  same  vol. 
IV.  Many  of  the  Oriental  words  and  phrases  in  these  transla- 
tions follow  the  Italian  closely;  but  Hoole  sometimes  flat- 
tons,  sometimes  heightens  the  Oriental  effects  of  the 
original  diction. 

Richard  Henry  Horne,  1803-1884. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  III. 
II.    Pelters  of  Pyramids. 

James  Henry  Leigh  Hunt,  1784-1859. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  II. 
II.    Abou  ben  Adhem  and  the  Angel. 
The  Nile. 

Richard  Jago,  1715-1781. 

I.  Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 

IV.    Only  single  words  and  slight  phrases  noted. 

Soame  Jenyns,  1704-1787. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 
III.    On  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul:     Translated  from  the 
Latin  of  I.  H.  Browne.    Book  I. — "Why  should  I  mention 
those,"  sq. 

Robert  Jephson,  1736-1803. 
I.    The   Count   of    Narbonne:     A   Tragedy.      In   Inchbald's 
British  Theatre,  vol.  XX. 
III.    Brief  passages  in  II,  1,  and  III,  2. 

Samuel  Johnson,  1709-1784. 
I.    Works.    With  an  Essay  on  His  Life  and  Genius  by  Arthur 
Murphy.  A  New  Edition.    London,  Glasgow,  and  Dublin, 
1824.    Twelve  vols.    Verse  in  vol.  I. 

II.  Irene:    A  Tragedy. 
III.    Septem  iEtates. 

Touches  in  Messia,  and  To  Stella. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  US 

Sir  William  Jones,  1746-1794. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 
II.    A  Chinese  Ode. 

Paraphrased. 

Verbal  Translation. 
Elegia  Arabica. 

The  Enchanted  Fruit;  or.  The  Hindoo  Wife:    An  Ante- 
diluvian Tale. 

Ex  Ferdusii  Poetae  Persici  Poemate  Heroico. 
From  the  Persian  Poem  of  Hatifi. 

In  the  Measure  of  the  Original. 

Transposition. 
A  Hymn  to  Camdeo. 
A  Hymn  to  Ganga. 
A  Hymn  to  Indra. 
A  Hymn  to  Lacshmi. 
A  Hymn  to  Narayena. 
A  Hymn  to  Seres waty. 
A  Hymn  to  Surya. 
To  Lady  Jones :    From  the  Arabic. 
Two  Hymns  to  Pracriti. 

The  Hymn  to  Bhavani. 

The  Hymn  to  Durga. 
Ode  Arabica. 

An  Ode  of  Jami :    In  the  Persian  Form  and  Measure. 
Ode  Persica. 
Altera. 

The  Palace  of  Fortune:    An  Indian  Tale. 
A  Persian  Song  of  Hafiz. 

Plassey-Plain :    A  Ballad  Addressed  to  Lady  Jones. 
The  Seven  Fountains :    An  Eastern  Allegory. 
Solima:    An  Arabian  Eclogue. 

A  Song  from  the  Persian,  Paraphrased  in  the  Measure  of 
the  Original. 

A  Turkish  Ode  of  Mesihi. 
The  Same:    In  Imitation  of  the  Perviligium  Veneris. 

John  Keats,  1795-1821. 
I.    Poetical  Works  and  Other  Writings.    Edited  by  H.  B.  For- 
man.    London,  18ft3.    Four  vols. 


774  Unircr.sitij  of  Kciu.suk  lluvntnistic  Studies 

II.    The  Cap  and  IVIls. 
Lamia. 
Sonnet  to  tlie  Nile. 

III.  Ktulyniion. 

Kvo  of  St.  Agnes. 

Hyperion. 

Isabella. 

Otho  the  (ireat. 

IV.  There  are  ])hrases  and  brief  passages  in  other  poems. 

John  Keble,  1792-1866. 
I.    The  Christian  Year.     London  and  New  York,  1894.     The 

Golden  Treasury  Series. 
II.    Monday  in  Whitsun-Week. 
III.    Conversion  of  St.  Paul. — Stanza  I. 
Seeond  Sunday  after  Christmas. 
Second  Sunday  after  Easter. 
Third  Sunday  in  Lent. — Stanzas  3,  4. 

Charles  Lamb,  1775-1834. 
I.    Works.    Edited  by  E.  V.  Lucas.    London,  1903-4.    Seven 

vols. 
11.    The  Gipsy's  Malison. 
Queen  Oriana's  Dream. 
The  Young  Catechist. 
III.    The  \Yife's  Trial.  Last  scene. — "The  scene  is  laid  in  the 
East.  "  sq.    And  passim. 

John  Langhorne,  1735-1779. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  X\  I. 

II.    Fables  of  Flora. — Fable  VI:    The  Queen  of  the  Meadow 
and  the  Crown  Imperial. 
III.    The  Country  Justice:     Introduction. — The  Gypsy-Life. 

Matthew  Gregory  Lewis,  1775-1818. 
I.    Life  and  Correspondence  .  .  .  with  Many  Pieces  in  Prose 
and  Verse  never  before  Published.     London,  1839.     Two 
vols. 
II.    x\latar:    A  Spani.sh  Ballad. 

The  Angel  of  Mercy:    An  Oriental  Tale. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  115 

Epilogue  to  Barbarossa. 

The  Loss  of  Alhama :    From  the  Spanish. 

Phatyr's  Song  of  Triumph. 

The  Princess  and  the  Slave :    A  Tale. 

The  Tailor's  Wife.  (From  the  German.) 

Zayde  and  Zayda :    From  the  Spanish. 

III.  Touches  in  William;  or.  The  Sailor  Boy,  Lines  .  .  on  .  .  C. 
J.  Fox,  and  other  poems. 

John  Leyden,  1775-1811. 
II.    [The  Arab  Warrior.] 
[The  Fight  of  Praya.] 
[Finland  Mother's  Song.] 

IV.  See  Symons,  p.  171,  and  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

George  Lillo,  1693-1739. 

I,    The  P'atal  Curiosity.    In  Inchbald's  British  Theatre,  vol.  XI. 
II.    [The  Christian  Hero.] — "Set  in  Albania." 
III.    The  Fatal  Curiosity.— Especially  I,  3;  II,  3. 

Robert  Lloyd,  1733-1754. 
I.   Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XV. 

III.  The  Cit's  Country  Box. — "Now  bricklayers,  carpenters  and 
joiners,"  sq. 

The  Cobbler  of  Cripplegate's  Letter  to  Robert  Lloyd. — 
"The  Chinese  ladies  feet"  sq. 

John  Gibson  Lockhart,  1794-1854. 
I,    Ancient   Spanish   Ballads;   Historical   and   Romantic.     A 

New  Edition,  Revised.    London,  1859. 
II.    Dragut,  the  Corsair. 

The  Flight  from  Granada. 
The  Moor  Calaynos. 
Moorish  Ballads. 
The  Vow  of  Red u an. 

IV.  There  is  a  Moorish  element  in  several  poems  not  named 
above.  The  Orientalism  of  the  Spanish  Ballads  is  mainly 
a  matter  of  theme  rather  than  diction. 


lie  VnivcrsHy  of  Kansas  Hitmanistic  Studies 

John  Logan,  1748-1788. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 
Ill     A  Tale.— Partly  Oriental. 

Edwahd  Lovibond,  1724-1775. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVI. 
II.    On  an  Asiatic  Lady. 
Reply  to  Miss  G— . 

Song:    "Hang  my  Lyre  upon  the  Willow.  " 
To  Laura:    Farewell  to  the  Rose. 

To  Laura,  on  Her  Receiving  a  Mysterious  Letter  from  a 
Methodist  Divine. 
To  the  Same. 

To  the  Same:    On  Her  Dress. 
To  the  Same:    On  Politics, 
III.    The  Tears  of  Old  May-Day. — Last  three  stanzas. 

George  Lyttelton,  1709-1773. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIV. 

III.  The  Progress  of  Love :  Hope.  Eclogue  II. — "Ah !  how,  my 
dear,"  sq. 

IV.  Lyttelton,  author  of  Letters  from  a  Persian  in  England 
(1735),  is  Orientalized — very  slightly ^ — in  Edward  Moore's 
Trial  of  Selim. 

Thomas  Babington  Macal  lay,  1800-1859. 
I.    Works.    London,  1898.    Twelve  vols. 
II.    The  Deliverance  of  Vienna.     Translated  from  Filicaja. 

The  Marriage  of  Tirzah  and  Ahirad. 
III.   Lays  of  Ancient  Rome. — The  Prophecy  of  Capys,  13,  28,  31. 

Letitia  Elizabeth  Landon  Maclean,  1802-1838. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  V. 
11.    The  Moorish  Maiden's  Vigil. 

WiLLL^M  Maginn,  1793-1842. 
I.    Poems  in  Jerrold  and  Leonard. 
II.    The  Galiongee:    A  Fragment  of  a  Turkish  Tale. 

David  Mallet,  1700-1765. 
I,    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIV. 
III.    The  Excursion.    Canto  I. — "From  Zembla's  cliffs,"  sq. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  117 

James  Clarence  Mangan,  1803-1849. 
I.    Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  III. 
II.    Ghazel:    The  World.    By  Kemal-Oomi. 

The  Hundred-leafed  Rose.    By  Mohammed  ben  Osman  ben 

Ali  Nakkash,  called  Lamii,  or,  The  DazzHng. 

The  Karamanian  Exile.    From  the  Ottoman. 

Passage.    From  Hudayi  II,  Native  of  Anatolia. 

The  Time  of  the  Barmecides.    From  the  Arabic. 

The  Time  of  the  Roses.    From  the  Turkish  of  Mesihi. 

The  Wail  of  the  Three  Khalendeers.    From  the  Ottoman. 

William  Mason,  1724-1797. 
I.    Poems.    London,  1830.    Two  vols. 

Elfrida,  and  Caractacus:    Dramatic  Poems.    London,  1819. 
The  English  Garden:     A  Poem.     With  Commentary  and 
Notes  by  W.  Burgh.    London,  1819. 
(The  above  four  vols,  bound  in  one.) 

III.  The  English  Garden. 

Book  II. — "The  Tartar  tyrants,"  sq. 

— "But  now  the  conquering  arms"  sq. 
Touches  elsewhere  in  the  poem. 

IV.  Mason's  Orientalism  is  interesting  by  way  of  contrast  to 
the  strong  Celtic  and  Greek  aspects  of  his  dramatic  poems. 

William  Julius  Mickle,  1734-1788. 
I.    Translation  of  Camoens'  Lusiad.    In  Chalmers,  vol.  XXI. 

Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 
II.    The  Lusiad. 

Sonnet  to  Vasco  da  Gama:    From  Tasso. 
III.    Almada  Hill. — "But  turn  we  now"  sq. 

— "The  naval  pride  of  those  bright  days"  sq. 
Liberty:    An  Elegy. — Stanzas  16-19. 

James  Miller,  1703-1744. 
I.    Mahomet,  the  Imposter.     In  Inchbald's  British   Theatre, 

vol.  XIII. 
II.    This  is  an  Oriental  tragedy,  adapted  from  Voltaire. 

Henry  Hart  Milman,  1791-1868. 
I.    Poems  in  Frost,  1843. 
II.    [Mahabharata.     (From  the  Sanskrit.)] 


JJ8  I'ninrsUy  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 

III.    Suinor.     l^)ok  XI. — "As  in  tlie  Oriental  wars"  sq. 

M.\HY  RussKLL  jMitfokd,  1787-1855. 
II.    [Cliristina,  or  The  Maid  of  the  South  Seas.] 
[Saihik  and  Kahisradc] 

Lady  Mauy  Wortley  Montagu,  1689-1762. 

I.    Letters  and  Works.     Edited  by  Lord  WharncliflFe.     AVith 

Additions,  etc.  by  W.  Moy  Thomas.    New  Edition,  revised. 

London,  1887.    Tavo  vols.     Bohn's  Standard  Library. 

II.    "Now  Philomel  renews  her  tender  strain."  (Vol.  I,  p.  182.) 

A'erses  Written  in  the  Chiosk  of  the  British  Palace  at  Pera. 

III.  An  Epistle  to  The  Earl  of  liurlington. — "Thus  on  the  sands" 
sq. 

IV.  The   Verses  are  perhaps  the  first  English   poem  of  note 
written  in  the  Orient.     (1717.) 

James  Montgomery,  1771-1854. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    Boston,  1881.    Five  vols,  in  two.    British 

Poets. 
II.    Abdallah  and  Sabat. 

The  Battle  of  Alexandria. 
Birds. 

The  Bird  of  Paradise. 

The  Canary. 

The  Ostrich. 

The  Pelican. 
The  Bramin. 
The  Cast-away  Shij). 
The   Sequel. 
China  Evangelized. 
The  Christians'  Call  to  the  Gipsies. 
A  Cry  from  South  Africa. 
The  Daisy  in  India, 
A  Deed  of  Darkness. 
For  a  Congregation  of  Negroes. 
The  Loss  of  the  Locks. 
The  Pelican  Island. 

Songs  on  the  Abolition  of  Negro  Slavery  in  the  British 
Colonies. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  119 

Sonnet  ...  on  the  Siege  of  Famagusta. 
Thoughts  on  Wheels.— No.  II.    The  Car  of  Juggernaut. 
To  My  Friend,  George  Bennet,  Esq. 
The  Voyage  of  the  Blind. 
III.    Greenland. 

Canto  I. — "Unwearied  as  the  camel,"  sq. 

Canto  IV. — From  Asia's  fertile  womb,"  sq. 
The  Ocean. — "Thus  the  pestilent  Upas,"  sq.    And  passim. 
Verses  to  the  Memory  of  .  .  Richard  Reynolds.     III. — 
First  four  lines. 
A  Voyage  Round  the  World. 

The   West    Indies. — Treatment    of   Africa    or   the   Negro 
throughout  the  poem. 

The  World  before  the  Flood. — Biblical;  with  some  Oriental 
element. 

Edavard  Moore,  1712-17.57. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIV. 

Poems,  Fables  and  Plays.    London,  1756. 
II.    Solomon:    A  Serenata. 

The  Trial  of  Selim,  the  Persian.    (See  above,  under  Lyltel- 
ton.) 

Thomas  Moore,  1779-185;^. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     Boston,  1879.     Six  vols,  in  three. 
II.    The  East-Indian. 

Fables  for  the  Holy  Alliance. 

Fable  III. 

Fable  V. 
The  Fudge  Family  in  Paris.    Letter  IX. — September  6th. 
From  the  High  Priest  of  Apollo  to  a  Virgin  of  Delhi. 
Fum  and  Hum. 
Lalla  Rookh. 
National  Airs. 

Cashmerian. 

Hungarian. 

Indian. 

Mahratta. 

Russian. 
Ode  to  the  Sul)Hnie  l^orte. 


ISO  I'/iiri-r.s-iti/  of  Kansas  Ilmnanistic  Studies 

()u  ii  Hoautilul  ICiist-Iiulian. 
To  My  MdIIut. 

Tlio  Twoi)enny  Post  Hag. — Letter  ^'I. 
A  \'ision  of  Philosophy. 
III.    Epistle  IX. — Opening  Hnes,  and  passim. 
The  ^^K^ge  Family  in  Paris.     Letter  X. 
News  for  Country  Cousins. 
Rhymes  on  the  Road. — Extract  IV. 
The  Twopenny  Post  Bag. — Letter  II. 

William  Motherwell,  1797-1835. 
I.    Poetical   Works.     With   Memoir  by  James    M'Conechy 

New  Edition,  Enlarged.    Boston,  1847. 
II.    The  Crusader's  Farewell. 

Ouglou's  Onslaught:    A  Turkish  Battle  Song. 
Zara. 

Carolina  Oliphant,  Lady  Xairne,  1766-1845. 
I.    Life  Songs  of  the  Baroness  Nairne.     Edited  by  Charles 
Rogers.     Edinburgh,  1905. 

John  Henry,  Cardinal  Newal^n,  1801-1890. 
I.    Verses  on  Various  Occasions.    London  and  New  York,  1889. 
III.    Heathen   Greece. — Touches. 
Solitude. — Touches. 

Thomas  Love  Peacock,  1785-1866. 
I.    The  Genius  of  the  Thames,  Palmyra,  and  Other  Poems. 

Second  Edition.    London  and  Edinburgh,  1812. 
II.    Palmyra. 
III.    The  Genius  of  the  Thames. 

Part  I. — "Where  Tigris  runs,"  sq. 
Part  II. — "Thus  fair,  of  old, "  sq. 
And  passim. 

Robert  Pollok,  1799-1827. 
I.    The  Course  of  Time.    Sixteenth  Edition.     Edinburgh  and 
London,  1841. 
III.    Book  V. — "Desire  of  every  land \''  sq. 

Book  VII. — "The  Memphian  mummy,"  sq. 

— "Athens,  and  Rome,  and  Babylon,"  sq. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  121 

Book  VIII. — Opening  lines. 

— "He  could  not  trust  the  word  of  heaven, "  sq. 

WiNTHROP  Mackworth  Praed,  1802-1839. 
I.    Poems.    With  a  Memoir  by  the  Rev.  Derwent  Coleridge. 

Second  Edition.    London,  1864.    Two  vols. 
II.  Australasia. 
Hindostan. 

In  Obitum  .  .  .  T.  F.  Middleton,  Episcopi  Calcuttensis. 
Pyramides  iEgyptiacse. 
The  Pyramids  of  Egypt. 

III.  Athens. — "Again  long  years  of  darkness"  sq. 

The  County  Ball. — "I  come  to  ye  a  stranger  guest,"  sq. 
The  Fancy  Ball. — Passim. 
Lidian's  Love.— XXIII-XXVII. 

IV.  Touches  in  Surly  Hall,  Arrivals  at  a  Watering-Place,  etc. 

Thomas  Pringle,  1789-1834. 
II.    [African  Sketches.] 

Bryan  Waller  Procter,  1790-1874. 
I.    Poems  in  Frost,  1843. 
II.    Gyges. 

Julian  the  Apostate. 

The  Return  of  Mark  Antony. 

III.  Amelia  Wentworth. 
Marcian  Colonna. 

Part  I.— 1. 

Part  III.— 13  and  17. 

IV.  Slight  touches  or  brief  passages  in   The  Falcon,  Ludovicu 
Sforza,  Tartarus,  and  Werner. 

Ann  Radcliffe,  1864-1823. 
I.    The  Romance  of  the  Forest,  Interspersed  with  Some  Pieces 
of  Poetry.    London,  1806.    Three  vols. 
The  Mysteries  of  Udolpho :     A  Romance.  With  an  Intro- 
duction by  D.  Murray  Rose.    London,  1003. 
II.    The  Mysteries  of  Udolpho.     Chapter  XVII.— Stanzas. 
III.    The  Romance  of  the  Forest. 

Chapter  XL— Song  of  a  Spirit.    One  line. 
Chapter  XVIII. —Morning,  On  the  Sea-shore. 


JJlf  I'nircr.^iljf  of  Kaitsd.s  II uiiuiitifilic  Studies 

John  Hamii/pon  HKVNOLns,  170(!-185"-2. 
11.    [Salio:  An  Eastern  Talc] 

Samiki-  Rockhs.  17(53- 1855. 
1.    I'octiral  Works.    .loliii  \V.  Lovell  (\)ni|)any,  New  York,  n.  d. 
II.    .Vii  InscTiplion. 

(Klo  to  SuiHM-stilion.      I,  3;  II,  ^2. 
111.    Italy. 

Tart  I,  '2. — ".Viul  wIumuc  llic  talisman"  sq. 
I'art  11.  '2"2. — "And  tliat  yet  greater  scourge,"  sq. 
— Closing  passage. 
Human  Life. — "A  tale  is  told"  sq. 
The  Pleasures  of  Memory. 

Part  I. — "Down  by  yon  hazel  copse,"  sq. 
Part  II. — "From  Guinea's  coasts"  sq. 
The  Voyage  of  Columbus. — "Such  to  their  grateful  ear"  sq. 

William  Stkwart  Rose,  1795-1845. 
II.    [Translation  of  Orlando  Furioso.] 

John  Scott,  1730-1783. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 
II.    On  the  Ingenious  Mr.  Jones's  Elegant  Translations  and 
Imitations  of  Eastern  Poetry. 
Oriental  Eclogues. 

Li-Po;  or,  the  Good  Governor:    A  Chinese  Eclogue. 
Serim;  or.  The  Artificial  F'amine:    An  East-Indian  Eclo- 
gue. 

Zerad;  or.  The  Absent  Lover:    An  Arabian  Eclogue. 
III.    Elegj'  III.— "Ask  Grecia,"  sq. 

Epistle  II:    Winter  Anmsements  in  the  Country. — "Such, 
hapless  Cook!"  sq. 

An  Essay  on  Painting. — "Now  his  pleased  step"  sq. 
Ode  XXIII. 

Walter  Scott,  1771-1832. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    Bo.ston,  1881.    Ten  vols,  in  five.    British 
Poets. 
II.    Ahriman.     (From  The  Talisman,  Chapter  III.) 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  123 

"Canny  moment,  lucky  fit"  (From  Guij  Mannerinq.  Chap- 
ter III.) 

The  Crusader's  Return.     (From  Ivanhoe,  Chapter  XVIII.) 
The  Fire-King. 

The  Search  after  Happiness;  or,  The  Quest  of  the  Sultaun 
Solimaun. 

"Twist  ye,  twine  ye! "    (From  Guy  Mannering,  Chapter  IV.) 
Verses  ...  to  the  Grand-Duke  Nicholas  of  Russia. 
"Wasted,  weary,  wherefore  stay. "    (From  Guy  Mannering, 
Chapter  XXVII.) 
III.    The  Bridal  of  Trierraain.    Canto  111.-^20-24  and  30-31. 

Percy  Bysshe  Shelley,  1792-1822. 
I.    Complete  Poetical  Works.     Edited  by  G.  E.  Woodherry. 

Boston,  1894.    Four  vols. 
II.    Alastor. 

Bigotry's  Victim. 

Fragments  of  an  Unfinished  Drama. 

From  the  Arabic:    An  Imitation. 

Hellas. 

[Henry  and  Louisa. — Part  II.] 

The  Indian  Serenade. 

Prometheus  Unbound. 

The  Revolt  of  Islam. 

Sonnet:    Ozymandias. 

Sonnet:    To  the  Nile. 

The  Witch  of  Atlas. 

fZeinab  and  Kathema.] 

III.  Ode  to  Liberty.— III. 
Queen  Mab. 

II. — "Beside  the  eternal  Nile"  sq. 
VII. — "The  name  of  God"  sq. 
IX. — "Even  Time,  the  conqueror,"  sq. 
And  passim. 

IV.  Many  phrases  and  brief  passages  in  other  j)oenis. 

William  Shenstone,  1714-17(13. 

I.    Poetical  Works.     With  Life,  etc.,  by  the  H<v.  (Morgc  (Jil- 
fillan.     Edinburgh,  London,  and  Dublin,  1H54. 


Jg^  Vnirfr.fiij/  of  Kan.'ias  Ilinnunistic  Studies 

HI.     Klr^'v  XI\'.— Stanzas  !)-14. 
Klogy  XX. 

Christopher  Smart,  1722-1770, 
I.    l'()oii\s  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVI. 
111.    On   tiio  Goodness  of  the  Supreme  Being. — "Attest,  and 
I ) rai.se, "  .s'</. 

On   I  lie  Immensity  of  the  Supreme  Being. — "Easy  may 
fancy  ])ass,"  .s-^. 

Horace  Smith,  1779-1849. 
I.    (With  James  Smith.)     Rejected  Addresses;  or.  The  New 
Theatrum  Poetarum.     New  Edition.     London,  1879. 
Poems  in  Miles,  vol.  IX. 

III.  Address  to  a  Mummy  in  Belzoni's  Exhibition. 
The  Jester  Condemned  to  Death. 

IV.  The  Rebuilding.    (With  James  Smith.) 

Tobias  George  Smollett,  1721-1771. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XV. 

III.  Ode  to  Independence. — "Arabia's  scorching  sands"  sq. 

IV.  Brief  passages  in  other  poems. 

Robert  Southey,  1774-1843. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    Boston,  1880.    Ten  vols,  in  five.    British 

Poets, 
II.    The  Battle  of  Pultowa. 
Botany  Bay  Eclogues. 
The  Curse  of  Kehama. 
Donica. 

Gonzalo  Hermiguez. 
Imitated  from  the  Persian. 
The  King  of  the  Crocodiles. 
La  Caba. 

The  Lover's  Rock. 
The  March  to  Moscow. 
Ode  on  the  Battle  of  Algiers. 
Ode  on  the  Portrait  of  Bishop  Heber. 

Ode  to  His  Imperial  Majesty,  Alexander  I,  Emperor  of  All 
the  Russias. 
Poems  Concerning  the  Slave-Trade. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  125 

Queen  Orraca,  and  the  Five  Martyrs  of  Morocco. 
Sonnet  XIV. 
Thalaba  the  Destroyer. 
The  Young  Dragon. 
III.    Joan  of  Arc. 

Book  VI. — "These  as  they  saw,"  sq. 

— "[Come  thundering  on.]    As  when  Chederles 

comes"  sq. 
— "Grateful,  as  to  the  way-worn  traveller, "sg. 
Book  VII.— Touches. 
Book  VIII. — "So  thickly  thronged"  sq. 
Book  X. — "Fills  not  the  Persian's  soul,"  sq. 
— "The  foe  tremble  and  die."  sq. 
— "As  the  blood-nurtured  monarch"  sq. 
— "The  Maiden  rushing  onward,"  sq. 
The  Retrospect. — "Oh,  while  well-pleased"  sq. 
A  Tale  of  Paraguay. — Particularly  Canto  I,  13. 

William  Thompson,  1712-1766. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XV. 
II.   The  Magi:    A  Sacred  Eclogue. — Biblical,  but  Oriental  in 

tone. 
III.    An  Hymn  to  May.— Stanza  13. 

James  Thomson,  1700-1748. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     Edited  l>y  D.  C.  Tovey.    London,  1897. 

Two  vols. 
II.    Prologue  to  Mallet's  Mustapha. 
III.    Liberty.    Part  III. — "From  the  dire  deserts"  i^. 

The  Seasons. — Extensive  passages  in   Autumn,   Summer, 
and  Winter. 

John  Tobin,  1770-1804. 
I.    The  Honeymoon.    In  Inchbald's  British  Thealrc,  vol.  XXV. 
III.    A  brief  passage  in  I,  1. 

Horace  Walpole,  1717-1797. 
I.    Works.    London,  1798.    Four  vols. 
II.    Epilogue  to  Tamerlane. 
III.    The  Mysterious  Mother.— II,  1. 


1$S  I'nirrraltii  of  Kansus  lluiiianistic  Siudiea 

l\ .  A  Few  Oriental  touehes  in  various  poems;  such  as  "crossing 
a  ijypsy's  palm,  "  "some  luxurious  Satrap's  barbarous  lust,  ** 
etc. 

Joseph  Wautox,  17''2'-2-1800. 
I.     I'oems  ill  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 
III.    Fashion:  A  Satire. — Ponfrim. 
Oile  to  Liberty. — Patisim. 

Thomas  Warton,  1728-1790. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVIII. 
II.    Ode  XII:    The  Crusade. 
III.    The  Pleasures  of  Melancholy. — *'  What  though  beneath"  sq 

— "To  me  far  happier"  sq. 
— "Yet  feels  the  hoary  her- 
mit" sq. 
Translations  and  Paraphrases. — Job. 

Charles  Jeremiah  Wells,  1800-1879. 
I.    Joseph  and  His  Brethren.    With  an  Introduction  by  A.  C. 
Swinburne.    Oxford  University  Press,  n.  d.     The  World's 
Classics. 

III.  While  this  is  a  Biblical  play,  it  has  passages  of  distinctly 
Oriental  quality.  Note  especially  I,  3;  Prologue  to  II;  II,  3; 
and  III,  3. 

Gilbert  West,  1703-1756. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XIII. 

IV.  Brief  passages  pas.sim.  Some  touches  in  the  translations 
from  Pindar. 

Henry  Kirke  White,  1785-1806. 
I.    Complete  W^orks.    With  an  Account  of  his  Life  by  Robert 

Southey.    E.  Kearny,  New  York,  n.  d. 
II.    Sonnet  IX. 
III.    The  Christiad. — Passim. 
Gondoline:    A  Ballad. 
Time. — VII;  and  brief  passages  passim. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  1S7 

Paul  Whitehead,  1710-1774. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVI. 
III.    An  Occasional  Song. — Stanza  4. 

The  State  Dunces:    A  Satire. — "But  Asia's  deserts"  sq. 

William  Whitehead,  1715-1785. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  XVII. 

The  Roman  Father.     In  Inchbald's  Britinh   Theatre,  vol. 
XIV. 
II.    Prologue  to  The  Orphan  of  China. 
III.    A  Charge  to  the  Poets. — "Friend  of  the  finer  arts'*  sq. 
An  Hymn  to  the  Nymph  of  Bristol  Spring. 
"Yet  some  there  have  been,"  sq. 
"  '  Twas  then,  Avonia, "  sq. 
On  Nobility :    An  Epistle. — " In  Turkey  still "  sq. 

William  Wilkie,  1721-1772. 
I.    Poems  in  Chalmers,  vol.  X\T. 

III.  Fables:    The  Breeze  and  the  Tempest. — "From  Zembla  to 
the  burning  zone"  sq. 

Charles  Wilkins,  1794  (?)-1836. 

IV.  See  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

John  Wilson,  1785-1854. 
I.    Works.    Edited  by  J.  F.  Ferrier.    Edinburgh  and  London, 

1855-58.    Twelve  vols.    Verse  in  vol.  XII. 
II.    Lines  written  on  seeing  a  Picture  by  Berghem. 

Lines  Written  on  Reading  Mr.  Clark.son's  History  of  the 
Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade. 
III.    The  Isle  of  Palms. — The  tropical  coloring  of   this   poem 

shows  some  kinship  with  Oriental  style. 
IV.    Touches  and  a  few  brief  passages  in  other  poems. 

John  Wolcott,  1738-1819. 
I.    The  Poetical  Works  of  Peter  Pindar,  Es(|.  Dublin.  1788. 

III.  The  Lousiad.    Canto  II. — "O  Conscience!  who  to  (  live "••.r/. 

IV.  Slight  passages  in  other  j)oems. 

William  Wordswohth,  1770-1850. 
I.    Poetical  Works.     Edited  by  Wilhimi  Knight.     Kdinburgh, 
1862.    Eleven  vols. 


IBS  I'nircrsit!/  of  Kansati  Iluiimni.stic  Studies 

II.    "Kro  with  cold  l)o;uis  of  inidiiijilit  dew." 
riio  AriiuMiiaii  Lady's  Love. 
Beggars. 
Secniol. 

Eoelesiastieal  Sketches. 
Ousades. 
(Vusaders. 

Missions  and  Travels. 
The  Egyptian  Maid;  or,  The  Romance  of  the  Water  Lily. 
The  French  Army  in  Russia. 
On  the  Same  Occasion. 
Gipsies. 

"Go  back  to  antique  ages,  if  thine  eyes. " 
The  Prioress's  Tale.    From  Chaucer. 
The  Russian  Fugitive. 
The  Source  of  the  Danube. 
Suggested  by  a  Picture  of  the  Bird  of  Paradise. 
III.    Descriptive  Sketches. — "The  Grison  gipsy"  sq. 
The  Excursion. 

Book  III. — "Not  less  than  that  huge  pile"  sq. 

— "But  stop! — These  theoretic  fancies  jar"  sq. 
Book  IV. — "Within  whose  silent  chambers"  sq. 

— "Whether  the  Persian"  sq. 
Book  VII. — "Eastward,  the  Danube"  sq. 
A  few  other  slight  passages  passim. 
The  Prelude. 

Book  V. — "A  precious  treasure  ".s(/. 

— "Sleep  seized  me"  sq. 
Book  VI. — "Strong  in  herself  and  in  beatitude"  sq. 
Book  VII. — "There  was  a  time"  sq. 

— "The  Swede,  the  Russian;"  sq. 
— "Enjoyment  haply  handed  down"  sq. 
Book  VIII. — "With  deep  devotion,  Nature,"  sq. 
Book  X. — "They — who  had  come  elate"  sq. 

Edward  Young,  1681-1765. 
I.    Poetical  Works.    With  a  Memoir  by  the  Rev.  John  Mitford. 
Boston,  1896.    Two  vols,  in  one.    Aldine  Edition. 
III.    The  Consolation. 

"Much  less  in  art, "  .s</.    Vaguely  Oriental. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  1S9 

"Range  through  the  fairest,"  sq. 
Love  of  Fame,  The  Universal  Passion.     Satire  II. — "On 
buying  books"  sq. 
Imperium  Pelagi. 

Strain  I. — "His  sons,  Po,  Ganges,"  sq. 

Strain  II. — Passim. 

Strain  V. — "Whence  Tartar  Grand,"  sq. 
Ocean:    An  Ode. — "From  Indian  mines,"  sq. 
A  Paraphrase  on  the  Book  of  Job. — Passim. 
IV.    The  first  citation  given  above  is  a  good  example  of  a  pas- 
sage  which   seems   Oriental   in   significance,    but   has   no 
direct  reference  to  the  Orient. 

B.  Collections  of  Poems 

Aiken,  John :  Select  Works  of  the  British  Poets  from  Ben  Jonson 
to  Beattie.  With  Biographical  and  Critical  Notices.  Ninth 
Edition.    Thomas  Wardle,  Philadelphia,  1838. 

Chalmers,  Alexander:  The  Works  of  the  English  Poets  from 
Chaucer  to  Cowper.    London,  1810.    Twenty-one  vols. 

Frost,  John :  Select  Works  of  the  British  Poets  from  Falconer  to 
Sir  Walter  Scott.  With  Biographical  Sketches.  Thomas  War- 
die,  Philadelphia,  1838. 

[Frost,  John :]  Select  Works  of  the  British  Poets  from  Southey  to 
Croly.  With  Biographical  and  Critical  Notices.  J.  Whctson 
and  Son,  Philadelphia,  1843. 

Hamilton,  Walter,  Editor :  Parodies  of  the  Works  of  English  and 
American  Authors.    London,  1884-9.    Six  vols. 

Inchbald,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Simpson:  The  British  Theatre.  Lon- 
don, 1808.    Twenty-five  vols. 

Inchbald,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Simpson:  The  Modern  Theatre.  London. 
1811.    Ten  vols. 

Jerrold,  Walter,  and  R.  M.  Leonard,  Editors:  A  Century  <'f 
Parody  and  Imitation.    The  Oxford  University  Press,    1913. 

Miles,  Alfred  H.,  Editor:  The  Poets  and  Poetry  of  tlic  C.Mitnry. 
London,  n.  d.    Ten  vols. 

Morley,  John,  Editor:  Parodies  and  Otlier  HuiIcsciik-  ricccs  In 
George  Canning,  George  Ellis,  and  John  Ilookliani  Frere.  I  cn- 
don,  Glasgow,  Manchester,  and  New  York,  1890. 


JSO  L'nirersity  of  Kan^'nt.t  Humanistic  Studies 

C.  Genkhai.  Mimluk;u  vfhh'al  Notes 
1.   Linguistic  Works 

Haker,  Artluir  E.:  V  Coiiconliiiico  to  the  Poetical  and  Dramatic 
Works  of  Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson.    New  York,  1914. 

Bartlett,  John:  A  New  and  Complete  (Concordance  or  Verbal 
Index  to  Words,  Phrases  and  Passages  in  the  Dramatic  Works 
of  Shakespeare.    London  and  New  York.  1894. 

Bradshaw,  Jolni :  A  Concordance  to  the  Poetical  Works  of  Milton. 
London,  1884. 

Carey,  William:    Dictionary  of  Mah rat ta.     1810. 

Carey,  William:    Dictionary  of  Bengali.     1818.    Three  vols. 

Carey,  William:    Dictionary  of  Bhotanta.    1826. 

Century  Dictionary  and  Cyclopedia,  The.  Revised  and  Enlarged 
Edition.     New  York.  (1911.)     Twelve  vols. 

Cooper,  Lane :  Concordance  to  the  Poems  of  William  Wordsworth. 
Ijondon,  1911. 

Cowden-Clarke.  Mrs.:  The  Complete  Concordance  to  Shakes- 
peare.   New  and  Revised  Edition.    London,  1889. 

Cunliffe,  Richard  John:  A  New  Shakespearean  Dictionary.  Lon- 
don, Glasgow,  and  Bombay,  1910. 

Ellis,  F.  S. :  A  Lexical  Concordance  to  the  Poetical  Works  of 
Percy  Bysshe  Shelley.    London,  1892. 

Emerson,  Oliver  Farrar:  The  History  of  the  English  Language. 
New  York  and  London,  1907. 

Johnson,  Samuel :  A  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language.  Robert 
Gordon  Lathan,  Editor.    London,  1870.    Two  vols. 

Leeb-Lundberg,  W. :  Word-formation  in  Kipling.  A  Stylistic- 
philological  Study.    Lund  and  Cambridge,  1909. 

Lockwood,  Laura  E. :  Lexicon  to  the  English  Poetical  W^orks  of 
John  Milton.    New  York  and  London,  1907. 

Loewe,  Louis:    Origin  of  the  Egyptian  Language.     1837. 

Marshman,  John  Clark:  Dictionary  of  the  Bengalee  Language. 
1827-8.     Two  vols. 

Marshman,  Joshua:  The  W'orks  of  Confucius.  Original  Text  with 
Translation,  and  Dissertation  on  the  Language  of  China. 
Serampur,  1809. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  131 

Molineux,   Marie  Ada:     A  Phrase  Book  from  the  Poetic  and 
Dramatic  Works  of  Robert  Browning.    Boston  and  New  York 
1896. 

Murray,  James  A.  H.,  Editor:  A  New  English  Dictionary  on 
Historical  Principles.  The  Clarendon  Press,  Oxford,  1888-1916. 
Ten  vols. 

Oxford  Cyclopedic  Concordance  to  the  English  Bible.  Oxford 
University  Press.     (1901.) 

Richardson,  John:  Dictionary  of  Persian,  Arabic  and  EngUsh 
London,  1777. 

Schmidt,  Alexander:  Shakespeare-Lexicon.  Third  Edition,  Re- 
vised and  Enlarged  by  Gregor  Sarrazin.  New  York  and  Berlin, 
190^2.    Two  vols. 

Skeat,  Walter  W. :  An  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English 
Language.  New  Edition;  Revised  and  Enlarged.  The  Claren- 
don Press,  Oxford,  1910. 


2.  Biographical,  Critical,  and  Historical  Works 

Allibone,  S.  Austin:  A  Critical  Dictionary  of  English  Literature 
and  British  and  American  Authors.  Philadelphia,  1891-6.  Six 
vols. 

Beers,  Henry  A. :  A  History  of  English  Romanticism  in  the  Eight- 
eenth Century.    New  York,  1889. 

Beers,  Henry  A. :  A  History  of  English  Romanticism  in  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.    New  York,  1901. 

Bible,  The:    King  James  Version. 

Brewster,  Dorothy:  Aaron  Hill,  Poet,  Dramatist,  Projector. 
Columbia  University  Press,  New  York,  191.S. 

Conant,   Martha  Pike:     The  Oriental  Tale  in  England   in   tlu- 

Eighteenth  Century.     The  Columbia  University  Press.  New 

York,  1910. 
Courthope,  WilUam  John:    History  of  English  Poetry.    New  York 

and  London,  1895-1910.    Six  vols. 
Dawson,    Edgar:      Byron    und    Moore.     Inaugural-Dissertation. 

Leipzig,  1902. 


ISS  Vnircrsifjf  of  Kan.fo.t  IluJtwnistic  Studies 

Foster,  John :  Critical  Kssays  Contrihuted  to  tlie  Eclectic  Review. 
Kditeil  hy  J.  E.  Rylaml.  London,  1888.  Two  vols.  The  Bohn 
Standaril  Library. 

Christianity  in  India. 
Daniell's  Oriental  Scenery. 
Hindoo  Idolatry  and  Christianity. 
Sanscrit  Literatnre. 
Sonthey's  Curse  of  Kehama. 
Vindication  of  the  Baptist  Missionaries. 
Fuhrman,  Ludwig:  Die  Belesenheit  des  jungen  Byron.  Inaugural- 
Dissertation.    Friedenau  bei  Berlin,  1903. 
Gosse,  Edmund:    A  History  of  Eighteenth  Century  Literature. 

London  and  New  York,  1889. 
Hosmer,  James  K. :    A  Short  History  of  German  Literature.  Re- 
vised Edition.    New  York,  1896. 
Jeffrey,  Francis:    Contributions  to  the  Edinburgh  Review.    New 
York,  1871.    Four  vols,  in  one.    Modern  British  Essayists. 
Review  of  Lalla  Rookh;  an  Oriental  Romance. 
Review  of  Roderick;  the  Last  of  the  Goths. 
Jones,  William:    Dissertation  sur  la  litterature  Orientale.    1771. 
Jones,  William :    On  the  Poetry  of  the  Eastern  Nations.    In  Chal- 
mers, vol.  XVIII,  pp.  502-508. 
Jones,  William:    Traite  sur  la  litterature  Orientale.    1770. 
Langhorne,  John:      Observations  on  the  Oriental  Eclogues   (of 
Collins).     In  Dyce's  edition  of  Collins  cited  above,  pp.  125-139. 

Macdonell,  Arthur  A.:  A  History  of  Sanskrit  Literature.  New 
York,  1900. 

Mackintosh,  James:  Miscellaneous  Works.  New  York,  1873, 
Three  vols,  in  one.    Modern  British  Essayists. 

Marks,  Jeannette:  English  Pastoral  Drama  (1660-1798).  Lon- 
don, 1908. 

Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley:    Letters  and  Works.    Edited  by 
her  Great  Grandson,  Lord  WharncliflFe.     With  Additions,  etc., 
by  W.  Moy  Thomas.    New  Edition  Revised.    London,  1887. 
Two  vols.    The  Bohn  Standard  Library. 

More,  Paul  Elmer:  The  Drift  of  Romanticism.  Boston  and  New 
York,  1913. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme  133 

Phelps,  William  Lyon :  The  Beginnings  of  the  English  Romantic 
Movement.    Boston,  New  York,  Chicago,  and  London.    (1893). 

Reynolds,  Myra:  The  Treatment  of  Nature  in  English  Poetry 
between  Pope  and  Wordsworth.  The  University  of  Chicago 
Press,  Chicago,  1909. 

Stephen,  Leslie  and  Sidney  Lee,  Editors :  Dictionary  of  National 
Biography.   New  York  and  London,  1885-1912.     Sixty-six  vols. 

Symons,  Arthur:  The  Romantic  Movement  in  English  Poetry. 
London,  1909. 

Thiergen,  Oscar:  Byron's  und  Moore's  Orientalische  Gedichte. 
Eine  Parallele.     Inaugural-Dissertation.     Leipzig,  1880. 

Tucker,  T.  G. :  The  Foreign  Debt  of  English  Literature.  London, 
1907. 

Underbill,  John  Garrett:  Spanish  Literature  in  the  England  of 
the  Tudors.  New  York  and  London,  1899.  Columbia  Univer- 
sity Studies  in  Literature. 


JSi 


I'niversiii/  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 


II.  Notes  ON  Oriental  Vocabulary 

A.  Oriental  V'ocabulary  in  Sir  William  Jones 

The  diction  of  Jones  includes  many  words  characteristic  of  the 
Oriental  verse  of  our  period  in  general,  and  a  considerable  number 
which  are  much  more  rare,  in  some  cases  probably  unique.  To  the 
former  class  belong  such  words  as  antelopes,  Arabian,  Asiatic,  asp, 
caravan,  cypress,  Egyptian,  elephants,  genii,  jasmine,  lotus,  musk, 
myrtle,  Xilus,  rose,  sandals,  the  names  of  several  precious  stones, 
etc.  In  the  table  below  are  given  the  most  important  words  of  the 
second  class  found  in  the  text  of  Chalmers.  Many  of  these  words 
are  explained  in  footnotes  by  the  author.  It  will  be  noted  that 
nearly  all  are  nouns,  and  that  a  large  proportion  are  proper  names 
of  deities,  persons,  or  places.  Most  are  simply  transliterations; 
and  few  have  an  assured  place  in  English  dictionaries. 


Abelah 

Cumar 

Laili 

Ravi 

Adda 

Cumara 

Langa 

Reti 

Aden 

Gurus 

Laschmi 

Rocnabad 

Aditi 

Lecshmy 

Rucmiui 

Agnyastra 

Daysa 

Lelit 

Agra 

Daysasha 

Sachi 

Ahmed 

Dayscar 

Mactigir 

Sagar 

Ajeirs 

Deipec 

Madhava 

Samarcand 

Amana 

Deits 

Magadh 

Sambal 

Amer 

Devatas 

Mahadeo 

Sanscrit 

Amra 

Devtas 

Mahadew 

Sarat 

Amrit 

Dhenasry 

Mahanadi 

Sasin 

Ananga 

Dhriterashtra 

Mahesi 

Scythian 

Area 

Draupaty 

Maia 

Seita 

Arun 

Durga 

Malcaus 

Seita  Cund 

Aryama 

Duryodhen 

Malsry 

Sereswati 

As  a  very 

Dwapar  Yug 

Maricha 

Sereswaty 

Asi 

Dwarpayan 

Martunda 

Seyte  Yug 

Asmora 

Dwaraca 

Marva 

Shambhawty 

Asurs 

Dyripetir 

Mathuna 

Sindhu 

Aswatthama 

Mathura 

Singarhar 

As  win 

Elachy 

Matra 

Siret 

Azib 

Erjun 

Maya 

Sisira 

Azza 

Maygh 

Sita 

Gandac 

Medhu 

Siva 

Bactrian 

Gandharvas 

Medhumadha 

Sivy 

Bala 

Ganesa 

Melar 

Solima 

Benares 

Ganga 

Mena 

Soma 

Bhagirath 

Geda 

Mengala 

Subahdar 

Osbonie:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme 


1S5 


Bhairan 

Gocul 

Menru 

Sudaman 

Bhairavy 

Gogra 

Merich 

Suderman 

Bhanu 

Gopa 

Meru 

Sumeru 

Bhavani 

Gopia 

Mihira 

Supiary 

Bhismarsu 

Gour 

Mosellay 

Sura 

Bhopaly 

Goverdhen 

Surariimnaga 

Bocara 

Grishma 

Nagkeser 

Surya 

Brahma 

Gujry 

Nairrit 

Swerga 

Brahman 

Gumpi 

Narac 

Brahmaputra 

Guncary 

Narayan 

Taraca 

Brindavan 

Gwury 

Narayena 

Teic 

Gyres 

Nared 

Tenca 

Cailas 

Nargal 

Toda 

Cailasa 

Hadramut 

Nawadwip 

Trisrota 

Caley 

Haldea 

Netta 

Tulsy 

Caly  Yug 

Hara 

Nipal 

CaU 

Hementa 

Vacadevy 

CaUnadi 

Heri 

Ormus 

Vahni 

Cama 

Heridaswa 

Oshadhi 

Valmic 

Cambala 

Himalaya 

Vamuna 

Camod 

Himansu 

Palamau 

Vani 

Candarpa 

Himola 

Palanqueen 

Varan 

Cantesa 

Hindol 

Pana 

Varuna 

Canyacuvja 

Hindustan 

Pandu 

Vasanta 

Carmasckhi 

Parvati 

Vasava 

Carnaty 

Indra 

Patala 

Vedas 

Cashgahr 

Indrani 

PataU 

Venamaly 

Casi 

Indraprest 

Pedma 

Versha 

Casyapa 

Indraprestha 

Pedmala 

Vinatian 

Catels 

Isa 

Pedmanabha 

Virawer 

Catha 

Is'wara 

Peitamber 

Vishnupedi 

Caydara 

Pendit 

Verihaspati 

Cetaca 

Jafer 

Petmenjary 

Vishnu 

Champa 

J  ami 

Piepel 

Vraga 

Chatacs 

Jeifel 

Pulomaja 

Vrindavan 

Chawla 

Joutery 

Purander 

Vyas 

Cheer  a 

Vyasa 

Chitraratha 

Kais 

Ragnys 

Chury 

Kemel 

Rahu 

Yama 

Coaba 

Ki 

Rajas 

Yamuna 

Condals 

Kiticum 

Rajahs 

Yudishteir 

Cosa 

Krishen 

Rama 

Yudhishti-ir 

Cosecs 

Kytabh 

Rancary 

Yunan 

Crishna 

Rangamar 

Cubera 

Lacshmi 
Ladon 

Ranies 

Zeineb 

Lu: 


UntreritUy  of  Ka7isas  Humanistic  Studies 


l\.    Kiiglisli  Words  of  Oriental  Derivation 

The  followini;  list  is  hy  no  means  conij)lete.  It  is  taken  from 
the  •Dislril.ntion  of  Words"  in  Skeat,  Edition  of  1910,  pp.  761- 
780;  this  list  then  being  revised  by  the  New  International  Diction- 
ary of  1910. 

The  following  abbreviations  are  used:  A. — Arabic;  C. —  Chi- 
nese; E. — Egyptian;  H. — Hindustani;  M. — Malay;  O. — "Ori- 
ental"; P. — Persian;  S. — Sanskrit;  T. — Turkish. 


Admiral.  A. 
Alcayde.  A. 
Alcohol.  A. 
Alcoran.  A. 
Alcove.  A. 
Algebra.  A. 
Alguazil.  A. 
Alkali.  A. 
Amadavat. 

India. 
Amber.  A. 
Aniline.  S. 
Anna.  Hindi. 
Areca.  Canarese. 
Argosy. 

Dalmatian. 
Arrack.  A. 
Arsenal.  A. 
Artichoke.  A.  (?) 
Asafetida.  P-Lat. 
Asparagus.   P.  (?) 
Assagai. 

Berber. 
Assassin.  A. 
Atabal.  A. 
Attar.  P.-A.  (?) 
Avatar.  S. 
Azimuth.  A. 
Azure.  P. 

Balas.  A. 
Bamboo.   M. 
Bangle.  H. 
Banian.  S. 
Banyan.  S. 
Baobob. 

West  African. 


Cotton.  A. 
Cowry.  H. 
Creese.  M. 
Crimson.  S. 
Cubeb.  A. 
Curry.  Tamil. 

Dervish.  P. 
Dey.  T. 
Divan.  P. 
Dragoman.  A. 
Drosky.   R. 
Dugong.   M. 
Durbar.  P. 

Ehxir.  A. 
Emir.  A. 

Fakir.  A. 
Fellah.  A. 
Fez.  From  the 

town  Fez. 
Firman.  P. 
Fustian.  E. 

Galangal.  A. 

Gamboge. 

From  Cambo- 
dia (Siam). 

Garble.  A. 

Gazelle.  A. 

Genet.  A. 

Ghoul.  A. 

Giaour.  T. 

Ginger.  0. 

Giraffe.  A. 

Gnu.   Kaffir. 


Lory.  M. 
Lute.  A.  (?) 

Mace.  S.  (?) 
Magazine.   A. 
Magi.  P. 
Mameluke.  A. 
Mammoth. 

Russian. 
Mandarin.  H. 
Mango.  Tamil. 
Mangrove. 

M. -English. 
Mattress.  A. 
Minaret.  A. 
Mogul.  P. 
Mohair.  A. 
Mohammedan.  A. 
Mohur.  P. 
Monsoon.   A. 
Moonshee.   A. 
Morse.   R. 
Moslem.  A. 
Mosque.  A. 
Muezzin.  A. 
Mufti.  A. 
Musk.  P. 
Mussulman.  A. 

Nabob.  A. 
Nadir.  A. 
Nankeen.  C. 
Nilgai.  P. 

Orange.   P.-A. 
Orang-outang.  M 
Ottoman.  A. 


Sarcenet.  A.  (?) 
Sash.  A. 
Satrap.   P. 
Scarlet. 

A.-P.-Lat. 
Scimitar.  P.  (?) 
Seguin.  A. 
Senna.    A. 
Sepoy.  P. 
Shagreen.  T. 
Shah.  P. 
Shampoo.  H. 
Shawl. 

P.  or  H. 
Sheik.  A. 
Sherbet.  A. 
Shrub.  A. 
Silk.  O.  (?) 
Simoom.  A. 
Sirocco.   A. 
Slave. 

Slavonic. 
Sofa.  A. 
Soy.  C. 

Spinach.  A.-P. 
Steppe.  R. 
Sugar.  S. 
Sultan.  A. 
Sumac.  A. 

Tabby.  A. 
Taboo. 

Polynesian. 
Taffeta.   P. 
Talc.  A. 
.  Talk. 

Lithuanian. 


Osborne:    Oriental  Diction  and  Theme 


1S7 


Basil.  A. 
Bazaar.  P. 
Bedouin.  A. 
Beg.  T. 
Begum.  T. 
Benzoin.  A. 
Beryl.  S.  (?) 
Betel. 

Tamil. 
Bezoar.  P. 
Bhang.  P. 
Bohea.  C. 
Borax.  P. 
Brahman.  S. 
Brilliant.  S.  (?) 
Bungalow. 

Bengali. 

Caddy.   M. 
Cadi.  A. 
Caftan.  T. 
Calash.  Slavonic. 
Call.  A. 
Calico. 

East  Indian. 
Camphor.  S. 
Candy.  S. 
Caravan.  P. 
Caravansary.  P. 
Carob.  A. 
Cashmere. 

Cashmere. 
Cassowary.  M. 
Catamaran. 

Tamil. 
Champac.  S. 
Check.    P. 
Cheetah.  H. 
Chimpanzee. 

African. 
Chintz.  H. 
Chouse.  T. 
Cinnabar.  P. 
Cipher.  A. 
Civet.  A. 
Cockatoo.   M. 
Coffee.  T.-A. 
Cossack.  Russian. 


Gong.  M. 
Gorilla. 

W.  African. 
Gum.  Probably  E. 
Gutta-percha.  M. 

Harem.  A. 

Hazard.  A. 

Hegira.  A. 

Henna,  A. 

Hooka.  A.  or  P. 

Horde.  T. 

Howdah.  A. 

Howitzer. 
Bohemian. 

Houri.  A. 

Hussar.  Hunga- 
rian-Latin. 

Ibis.  E. 

Jackal.  P. 
Jagonelle.  P. 
Janizary.  T. 
Jar.  A. 
Jasmine.  P. 
Jerboa.  A. 
Julep.  P. 
Jungle.  S. 
Jute.  S. 

Kangaroo. 

Australian. 
Kermes.  A.  andP 
Khan. 

P.  and  Tatar. 
Khedive.  P. 
Kiosk.  T. 
Koran.  A. 

Lac. 

East  Indian. 
Lama.  Tibetan. 
Lascar.  P. 
Lemon.  P. 
Lilac.  P. 
Lime.  A. 
Loot.  A.  (?) 


Pagoda.  P.  (?) 
Palanquin.  S. 
Paradise. 

Avestan. 
Paramatta. 

Australian. 
Pariah.  Tamil. 
Parsi.  H.-P. 
Parvis. 

Avestan. 
Pasha.  T. 
Pawnee.  H. 
Peacock.  O.  (?) 
Peri.  P. 
Pice.  H. 
Pistachio.  P. 
Polka.  Bohemian. 
Proa.  M. 
Pundit.  S. 
Punch.  S. 
Punkah.  H. 

Quagga.  Zulu. 

Racket.  A. 
Rajah.  S. 
Rajut.  S. 
Rattan.  M. 
Realgar.  A. 
Ream.  A. 
Rebec.  A.  (?) 
Reindeer. 

Lapp. 
Rice.  S.  (?) 
Rook.  P.-A. 
Rouble.  R. 
Rupee.  S. 
Ryot.  A.-H. 

Sable.  Slavonic. 
Saccharine.  S. 
Saffron.  A.-P. 
Sago.  M. 
Salaam.  A. 
Sandal-wood  S. 
Sanskrit.  S. 
Saraband.  P. 
Saracen.  A.  (?) 


Tamarind.  A.-P. 
Taraxacum. 

A.  (?)-P.  (?) 
Tare.  A. 
Tariff.  A. 
Tartar.  A.  (?) 
Tattoo. 

Tahitan. 
Tea. 

Chinese. 
Teak.  M. 
Thug.  H. 
Tiara.  P. 
Tiger.  P.  (?) 
Toddy.    H. 
Tokay. 

Hungarian. 
Tom-tom.  H. 
TuHp.  T. 
Turban.  T. 
Turk. 

P.-Tatar   (?) 

Uhlan.    Tatar. 
Ukase.  R. 


Vampire. 

Servian. 
Van.  P. 
Veda.   S. 
Veranda.  P. 
Verst.  R. 
Vizier.  A. 


(?) 


Wombat. 
Australian. 

Yak.    Tibetan. 
Yataghan.  T. 

Zamindar.   P. 
Zananu.  P. 
Zebra. 

Abyssinian. 
Zedoary.  A.-P. 
Zenith.  A. 
Zero.  A. 
Zouavo.  AlKcrian. 


lSt< 


University  of  Kansas  Humanistic  Studies 


(\  Oriental  Vocabulary  in  the  King  James  Version 
of  the  IJible 

The  Kinji  .lames  version  of  the  Bible  includes  the  following 
words  which  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Oriental 
vocabulary  of  our  period,  though  the  Bible  is  not  necessarily  to  be 
viewed  as  a  source. 


Adder 

Cyprus 

Jasper 

Pharaoh 

Agate 

Cyrene 

Phenicia 

Almond 

Lebanon 

Phrygia 

Aloes 

Dalmatia 

Leopard 

Pomegranate 

Amber 

Damascus 

Libya 

Amethyst 

Desert 

Lizard 

Red-Sea 

Ape 

Diamond 

Locust 

Rose 

Asia 

Dromedary 

Lute 

Ruby 

Asp 

Dulcimer 

Assyria 

Mandrake 

Sabeans 

Assyrian 

Eden 

Medes 

Saffron 

Astaroth 

Egypt 

Media 

Sand 

Egyptian 

Melons 

Sapphire 

Baal 

Emerald 

Myrrh 

Sardonyx 

Babylon 

Ethiopia 

Saron 

Balm 

Ethiopian 

Nard 

Sharon 

Belshazzar 

Eunuch 

Nimrod 

Sidon 

Beryl 

Euphrates 

Nineveh 

Sidonians 
Spicery 

Camel 

Fig-tree 

Olive 

Spikenard 

Cane 

Frankincense 

Onyx 

Sycamore 

Carbuncle 

Ophir 

Syria 

Cassia 

Gold 

Syrians 

Cedar 

Grove 

Palm-tree 

Chaldea 

Parthians 

Tent 

Chaldeans 

Idol 

Peacock 

Timbrel 

Chaldees 

Idumea 

Pearls 

Topaz 

Chrysolite 

India 

Pelican 

Cinnamon 

Persia 

Viper 

Cymbals 

Jacinth 

Persian 

Vulture 

Cypress 

Jah 

INDEX 


Akenside,  Mark,  36,  44,  94 
Arabian  Nights,  48,  60,  78 
Ariosto,  Lodivico,  34,  49,  78,  122 
Armstrong,  John,  14,  44,  94 
Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  16,  54 
Arnold,  Matthew,  13,  16,  17,  42,  77 
Atherstone,  Edwin,  94 

Baillie,  Joanna,  19,  44,  46,  52,  54, 

73,  74,  78,  81,  94 
Barbauld,  Anna  Letitia,  95 
Barham,  Richard  Harris,  95 
Barker,  Granville,  19 
Barnes,  William,  95 
Beattie,  James,  95 
Beckford,  William,  52 
Beddoes,    Thomas   Lovell,   38,   42, 

51,  52,  73,  95 
Beers,  Henry  A.,  11,  12,  13 
Beowulf,  9 
Bible,   The   (King  James  Version), 

8,  25,  32,  47,  48,  49,  51,  52,  53, 

90,  138 
Blacklock,  Thomas,  96 
Blair,  Robert,  36,  44,  96 
Blake,  William,  32,  42,  45,  51,  67, 

96 
Blind,  Mathilde,  19 
Bloomfield,  Robert,  97 
Bowles,  William  Lisle,  21,  25,  36, 

38,  44,  57,  65,  67,  82,  97 
Bowring,  Sir  John,  53,  71,  98 
Boyse,  Samuel,  34,  69,  75,  79,  98 
Bradshaw,  John,  11 
Brooke,  Henry,  49,  52,  98 
Brown,  John,  52,  98 
Browne,  Isaac  Hawkins,  22,  98 
Browning,  Robert,  13,  17,  23 
Bryant,  William  Cullen,  72 
Burns,  Robert,  15,  21,  32,  54.  98 
Butler,  Samuel,  13 
Byrom,  John,  23,  33,  99 
Byron,  Lord,  8,  13,  15,  18,  19,  23, 

25,  26,  29,  36,  38,  39,  40,  50,  52, 

54,  79,  83,  91,  99 


Cambridge,  Richard  Owen,  74,  81, 

83,  100 
Camoens,  Luis  de,  25,  36,  66 
Campbell,  Thomas,  15,  35,  42,  44, 

47,  72,  91,  100 
Canby,  Henry  Seidel,  12 
Canning,  George,  100 
Carey,  William,  65,  101 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  8 
Cary,  Henry  Francis,  101 
Cawthorn,  James,  34,  44,  56,  101 
Chatterton,  Thomas,  32,  42,  54.  101 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  9,  10,  20,  35,  40 
Churchill,  Charles,  60,  102 
Coleridge,  Hartley,  42,  102 
Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  12,  18, 

26,  44,  49,  55,  79,  83,  86,  91 
CoUins,  WilHam,  7,  13,  15,  21,  26, 

29,  31,  39,  41,  48,  51,  53,  54,  59, 

72,  102 
Colman,  George,  the  Younger,  52, 

103 
Conant,  Martha  Pike,  8,  17,  52,  93 
Confucius,  27,  75,  81 
Congreve,  William,  11,  12 
Cooper,  John  Gilbert,  61,  103 
Cotton,  Nathaniel,  77,  103 
Cowley,  Abraham,  71 
Cowper,  William,  23,  38,  57.  103 
Crabbe,  George,  13,  19,  38,  47.  49. 

58,  60,  63,  71,  75,  85,  104 
Croly,  George,  105 
Croxall,  Samuel,  12 
Cumberland,  Richard,  105 
Cunningham,  John,  32,  63 

Darley,  George,  105 
Darwin,  Erasmus,  71,  72.  S3.  103 
Davenant,  Sir  William,  11.  18 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,  89 
Dobell,  Sydney,  19 
Dodsley,  Robert,  53.  106 
Doyle.  Sir  Francis  Hastings,  106 
Dyer,  John,  26.  44.  HI6 


1S9 


/.;() 


INDEX 


Ellis,  George,  106 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  17,  20,  26 

Falconer,  William,  69,  106 
Fawkes,  Francis,  107 
Fergusson.  Robert,  35,  107 
Fitzgerald,  Edward,  18,  20,  49,  54 
Foster,  John,  14,  41,  85 
Frere,  John  Hookham,  64,  107 

Gifford,  William,  85 

Glover,  Richard,  107 

Goethe,  Johann  Wolfgang  von,  67 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  52,  57,  58,  84, 

108 
Gosse,  Edmund,  12,  19 
Grahame,  James,  84,  108 
Grainger,  James,  21,  61,  64,  108 
Gray,  Thomas,  21,  108 

Hafiz,  27,  39,  54,  59,  78 

Hallam,  Arthur  H.,  78,  108 

Hamilton,  WiUiam,  109 

Harte,  Walter,  32,  34,  49,  75,  109 

Hartson,  Hall,  109 

Hawker,  Robert  Stephen,  38,  109 

Hazlitt,  William,  86 

Heber,  Reginald,  64,  91,  109 

Hemans,  Felicia  Dorothea,  15,  21, 

29,  54,  55,  62,  64,  65,  71,  72,  78, 

83,  109 
Heywood,  John,  10 
Hill,  Aaron,  11,  52,  110 
Hogg,  James,  46,  111 
Home,  John,  111 
Hood,  Thomas,  51,  56,  63,  72,  74, 

111 
Hoole,  John,  18,  34,  35,  49,  78,  111 
Home,  Richard  Henry,  121 
Hughes,  John,  11,  52 
Hunt,  Leigh,  83,  112 

Jago,  Richard,  35,  52,  121 
Jami,  50 

Jeffrey,  Francis,  40,  80,  83 
Jenyns,  Soame,  32,  112 
Jephson,  Robert,  112 
Johnson,  Samuel,  13,  22,  52,  75 


Jones,  Sir  William,  12,  13,  15,  18, 
22,  23,  25,  26,  30,  39,  48,  49,  50, 

53,  54,  59,  62,  66,  73,  78,  90,  113 
Jonson,  Benjamin,  77 

Keats,  John,  12,  15,  32,  51,  72,  78, 

86,  89,  113 
Keble,  John,  8,  14,  28,  38,  42,  43, 

54,  73,  114 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  9,  17,  18,  51,  54 
Konrad  of  Wurzburg,  90 
Koran,  The,  78,  87,  90 

Lamb,  Charles,  47,  58,  114 
Landor,  Walter  Savage,  38 
Lang,  Andrew,  19,  20 
Langhorne,  John,  32,  35,  44,  57,  59, 

71,  72,90,  114 
Lewis,  Matthew  Gregory,  53,  114 
Leyden,  John, 115 
Lillo,  George,  58,  70,  93,  115 
Lloyd,  Robert,  14,  42,  75,  115 
Lockhart,  John  Gibson,  115 
Logan,  John,  21,  63,  116 
Lovibond,  Edward,  57,  63,  116 
Lyly,  John,  11 

Lyttelton,  George,  32,  84,  116 
Lytton,  Bulwer,  13 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington,  36, 

65,  75,  83,  116 
Mackay,  Charles,  19 
Mackintosh,  Sir  James,  66,  83 
Maclean,  Letitia  Elizabeth  Landon, 

62,  116 
Macpherson,  James,  21 
Madame  Butterfly,  20 
Maginn,  William,  116 
Malcolm,  Sir  John,  16 
Mallet,  David,  44,  116 
Mangan,  James   Clarence,   13,  23, 

29,  31,  34,  36,  49,  50,  51,  53,  59, 

117 
Marlowe,  Christopher,  11,  16 
Marshman,  Josuha,  53 
Mason,  William,  37,  48,  71,  117 
Mickle,  William  Julius,  25,  32,  35, 

36,  67,  117 


INDEX 


Ul 


Miller,  James,  11,  52,  117 
Milman,  Henry  Hart,  74,  117 
Milton,  John,  10,  11,  34,  77,  79 
Mitford,  Mary  Russell,  53,  118 
Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  12, 

13,  53,  54,  62,  77,  118 
Montgomery,  James,  21,  25,  33,  34, 

36,  38,  42,  44,  46,  49,  54,  65,  70, 

71,  72,  73,  74,  77,  82,  84,  118 
Moore,  Edward,  119 
Moore,  Thomas,  13,  15,  16,  19,  21, 

25,  28,  29,  31,  35,  36,  39,  40,  50, 

54,  57,  59,  62,  72,  73,  75,  76,  79, 

81,  83,  86,  119 
More,  Paul  Elmer,  14,  88 
Motherwell,    William,   21,   30,   32, 

120 

Nairne,   Caroline   Oliphant,   Lady, 

120 
Newman,    John    Henry,    Cardinal, 

43,  120 
Nordau,  Max,  34 

Omar  Khayyam,  18,  20 

Peacock,  Thomas  Love,  28,  32,  39, 

45,  59,  120 
Pearl,  The,  10 
Peele,  George,  11 
Persian  Tales,  60 
Petrarch,  39 

Phelps,  William  Lyon,  12,  41 
Pindar,  50 

Play  of  the  Sacrament,  The,  9 
Pollock,  Robert,  32,  44,  57,  120 
Pope,  Alexander,  12,  13 
Praed,   Winthrop   Mackworth,  22, 

29,  32,  42,  43,  58,  63,  64,  88,  91, 

121 
Preston,  Thomas,  10 
Pringle,  Thomas,  121 
Procter,  Bryan  Waller,  42,  49,  93, 

121 
Radcliffe,  Ann,  32,  54,  121 
Ramayuna,  The,  41,  101 
Reynolds,  John  Hamilton,  122 


Rogers,  Samuel,  38.  44,  46,  61,  67, 

122 
Rolliad,  The,  83 
Rose,  William  Stewart,  122 
Rossetti,  Dante  Gabriel,  19,  31,  34, 

78 
Ruskin,  John,  89 

Saadi,  20,  27,  78 

Sackville,    Thomas,    and    Thomas 

Norton,  10 
St.  Pierre,  71 
Scott,  John,  23,  48,  54,  59,  63,  64, 

77,  122 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  26,  54,  58,  65,  67, 

75,  76,  79,  122 
Shakespeare,  William,  10,  16 
Shearmen  and  Taylors,  Coventry,  9 
Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe,  12,  16,  25, 
26,  27,  28,  32,  35,  38,  42,  49,  51, 
52,  57,  63,  71,  73,  80,  86,  123 
Shenstone,  William,  35,  49,  123 
Skeat,  Walter  W.,  25,  30,  136 
Smart,  Christopher,  32,  124 
Smith,  Horace,  55,  56,  83,  124 
Smollett,  Tobias  George,  16,  34,  44 
Southey,  Robert,  13,  16,  17,  18,  21, 
22,  23,  25,  26,  28,  29,  32,  33,  36, 
37,  42,  51,  54,  55,  57,  60,  64,  72, 
73,  76,  80,  83,  86,  89,  91,  102,  124 
Spencer,  Edmund,  11,  43 
Stevenson,  Robert  Louis,  29 
Surrey,  Earl  of,  10,  11,  51 

Tagore,  Rabindranath,  20 
Tasso,  Torquato.  18,  35,  49,  66 
Tennyson,  Alfred,  Lord,  13.  17.  18, 

19,31,36,60,91 
Thompson,  William.  34,  43,  125 
Thomson,   James    (1700-1748).   26, 

32,  35,  36,  43,  46,  49,  84,  125 
Thomson,  James  (1834-1882).  19 
Tobin,  John.  125 
TuUey,  Richard  Walton,  20 

Udall,  Nicholas,  10 
Underbill.  John  Garn-tt,  10 


m 


INDEX 


V'edds,  The.  78 
Voltaire,  52,  117 

Waller,  Edmund,  11,  12,34 

Walpole,  Horace,  125 

Warton,  Joseph,  44,  46,  126 

Warton,  Thomas,  126 

Webxter's  Neiv  International  Dic- 
tionary, 25,  136 

Wells,  Charles  Jeremiah,  8,  47,  52, 
73,  126 

West,  Gilbert,  126 

White,  Henry  Kirke,  71  86,  87,  93, 
126 


White,  Gilbert,  63 
Whitehead,  Paul,  63,  127 
Whitehead,  William,  127 
Whitman,  Walt,  45 
Wilkie,  William,  32,  127 
Wilkins,  Sir  Charles,  53,  127 
Wilson,  John,  42,  58,  65,  127 
Wolcott,  John,  81,  83,  127 
Wordsworth,   William,   12,   19,  38, 

47,  58,  60,  61,  65,  66,  67,  72,  76, 

79,  127 

Young,  Edward,  13,  15,  44,  52,  56, 

57,  79,  88,  128 


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